Raising Nicholas
by LOTSlover
Summary: Sequel to my fic Baby Makes Three, Bruce and Diana learn firsthand the ins and outs of marriage as well as raising a baby. Humor/Romance BM/WW
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE****:** Raising Nicholas

**AUTHOR****: **LOTSlove®

**CHARACTERS****: **Batman / Wonder Woman

**RATING****: ** R/M

**WARNINGS****:** Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings

**DISCLAIMER****:** I love Justice League, but especially Batman and Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, I do not own the characters and if I did things would be much different for them.

**SUMMARY****: ** Sequel to my fic Baby Makes Three, Bruce and Diana learn firsthand the ins and outs of marriage as well as raising a baby. Humor/Romance BM/WW

**Author's Note****:** **BIG SHOUT OUTS** to the faithful readers/reviewers who have been following all of my BM/WW fics. You guys are totally **AWESOME**! You have no idea how your reviews make my day and keep me writing. You make me love this amazing fandom more and more!

And a **SPECIAL SHOUT OUT** to **DINASIS**! Thanks for letting me pick your awesome brain and to bounce ideas off of. You are the best!

**Chapter 1**

"Admit it, Princess; you have no clue what you're doing, do you?"

"Are you saying because I'm an Amazon from an island full of women I don't know how to use this?"

"No not exactly, but this is probably the first time you've actually held one."

"Just let me do this."

"Wait!" he cried. "You're gripping it too hard!"

"I am not!" she protested. "I know what I'm doing, Bruce."

"You're going to break it," he insisted. "It's not a toy, Princess. Ease up on the grip."

Diana huffed in frustration, blowing a raven curl out of her line of sight. "Are you going to be a backseat passenger or are you going to be quiet and let me handle this myself?"

"It's backseat driver and I think you are in dire need of my help," he maintained, doing his best to hide how adorable he thought she was at that moment. "You're doing it all wrong."

"And you think you know how to handle this?" she exclaimed.

"I know better than you," he snorted. "At least I've handled one before."

"Do you want to do this yourself?" she glared hotly at him.

"Thanks, I thought you'd never ask," he replied as he covered her hand with his own, guiding her movements. "First of all, you need to relax your grip."

"It's very hard to relax when you're breathing heavily in my ear," she pointed out.

Bruce smirked with her words. "Are you complaining?"

"No, but you're making it very hard to concentrate on this," she said, her tone growing a little more breathy. "You better stop if you want me to do this."

"You know we could finish this upstairs where we'd be much more comfortable," he suggested, his lips grazing against her cheek.

"I'm very comfortable," she purred in response. "It's you that seems to have the issue. Now, hold still or we'll never finish this before dinner."

"It's going to take a lot longer than that, Princess," he rasped. "I'm thinking it could take three or four hours before we're done."

"You're not very optimistic about my abilities, are you?"

"What? No!" he bit back a grin, his lips brushing against her throat. "You are very skilled…in more ways than one. Blessed by the gods is an understatement of great proportions when it comes to you."

Diana giggled with his sweet talk. "Now you're just trying to get into my…"

"What's going on in here?"

Bruce and Diana both turned sharply to see Dick standing in the doorway with Nicholas in his arms, a look of amusement on the young man's lips. "Dick, when did you get here?" Diana asked, somewhat embarrassed to be caught in the position she was in with Bruce practically wrapped around her body from behind, his hand covering hers on the screwdriver.

"Just a little bit ago," he grinned knowingly at them. "I stopped by to see Junior here."

"And it just so conveniently happens to be almost the same time as dinner," Bruce rolled his eyes, refusing to put any distance between him and his beautiful wife despite her obvious discomfiture.

"What are you guys trying to do?" Dick asked, ignoring his surrogate father's observation.

"Trying to put this baby swing together," Diana groused.

Dick's grin turned into a frown as he stared at the numerous pieces still scattered about the floor of the library as well as the partial frame that had already been assembled. "That's supposed to be a baby swing?"

"Yes," Diana exhaled deeply, her frustration obvious.

"It looks more like a death trap," Dick decided as he bounced Nicholas in his arms. "I think Nick would be safer playing in the Batcave than in that thing."

"Hera, no," Diana groaned at the thought. "My son is not going to be allowed to play in dark dirty cave."

"Hey, it's not that dirty," Bruce frowned. "Alfred does a great job of keeping it clean."

"There's only so much one can do to keep a cave clean especially with bat guano everywhere," she pursed her lips as she glanced back down at the instruction sheet.

"You didn't seem to mind it down there the other night," he whispered huskily in her ear, his right hand rubbing her side in fond remembrance.

He could practically feel the heat of Diana's blush as it rose up her neck and chest to her face. It never ceased to amaze him how innocent she could be especially with how wild she was in the bedroom…or the Batcave…or the Batmobile…the library…the kitchen…the Watchtower monitor womb…the training room…

"Okay, too much information," Dick wrinkled his nose at his surrogate parents, still taken aback at how much the Amazon Princess had managed to loosen up the Dark Knight. "Why didn't you just pay the store to put it together for you?"

"Because we are two very smart adults who are more than capable of doing this by ourselves," Diana replied in righteous indignation.

"Except for the fact that she's never handled a screwdriver a day in her life," Bruce chuckled.

He grunted when a sharp Amazonian elbow came in contact with his ribs, but it did little to erase the grin on his face. She was just too adorable especially when she became frustrated by something. She made it nearly impossible to keep his hands off of her.

"That doesn't mean I can't figure it out myself," she scowled.

"I'm surprised she didn't crush the screwdriver with the way she was gripping it," Bruce informed his oldest charge.

"I'm going to put this together myself and prove you both wrong," she snapped.

"Before Nicholas turns one year old?" Dick laughed.

"I don't know, Princess," Bruce shook his head in amusement. "That only gives you four months."

"If you want a repeat performance in the Batcave, I'd stop now if I were you," Diana murmured under her breath to her husband.

"Again, too much information," Dick groaned. "Come on, Nicholas. You're too young to be hearing such things from your parents."

Bruce began running his fingers through Diana's long mane, his lips anxiously seeking out her neck. "You look so sexy with that screwdriver in your hand," he whispered against her skin, his hand snaking around her side to stroke her torso just beneath her breasts.

A hum of pleasure slipped past her lips as her eyes fell closed, her head tilting back to rest against his shoulder as he continued to feast on her neck. "You know…you shouldn't start something…you can't finish," she reminded him, having difficulty connecting her thoughts with what her husband was doing to her.

"Just trying to work my way back into your good graces, Princess," he muttered, his hand moving up to lightly caress the underside of her breast.

"I think you better keep working at…Hera!" she gasped as he began to squeeze her.

"What was that again?" he smirked.

"Bruce…" she whispered, her hands finding his thighs that circled her, massaging them in response to his touch.

He shifted to her side, needing to taste her. His mouth found hers with a sensual hunger, savoring the feel of her soft lips against his as his hand snuck up under her t-shirt to stroke the smooth skin of her back. He could feel her shiver against his touch, her breath hitching as his fingers circled around to her abdomen.

"If you two think you can pull yourselves apart, dinner is ready."

Bruce reluctantly broke off the kiss, his nose brushing against hers. "We'll be right there, Alfred," he grudgingly replied.

Diana caressed his arm, silently telling him they could pick up where they left off later tonight. She slowly disentangled herself from his embrace, getting to her feet before offering him her hand. He took her hand, getting to his feet as well before pulling her into his arms.

"I'm not done with you yet, Princess," he whispered to her, kissing her with intense desire once more.

Diana tried to catch her breath as she took his hand and began to lead him from the library. "So, what are your plans for this weekend?" she nonchalantly asked, trying to change the subject in order to quell the need thrumming through her at that moment.

Bruce gave her a curious look, feigning ignorance as they made their way towards the dining room. "This weekend?" he asked. "Nothing important that I can think of. Thought about making some upgrades to the Batmobile, change the oil in the Batcycle."

Diana shot him a sidelong glance of pure daggers as she appraised him, noting the indifferent tone of his voice. He continued to keep his attention focused directly ahead of him, his expression completely stoic without a single crack in his formidable façade.

Bruce bit the inside of his cheek to keep the amusement he felt inside from rising to his face. She was completely annoyed by his apparent lack of acknowledgement that it was their first wedding anniversary coming up this weekend and he wasn't about to let on that he remembered. He was going to force her to wait, make her wonder if he actually remembered the special event or not.

In reality, he had remembered, had been planning something special for this upcoming weekend for over a month now, but he wasn't about to ruin the surprise. Besides, it was more fun to see her agitated, fishing for information and brooding over his ill-perceived insensitivity.

"What are your plans for this weekend?" he casually inquired as he led her to her seat next to his at the dining table. "Finish that swing for Nicholas?"

"I'll have it finished before this weekend," she bit out, irritated by his forgetfulness, but deciding that two can participate in whatever game he was playing. "Thought I'd go to the Watchtower for a couple of days, help oversee the installation of the new solar panels. I'm sure Kal could use my assistance. It would make the job go a little more quickly. Besides, you won't need me around here if you're going to be down in the Batcave tinkering with your toys all weekend. Might as well make myself useful to someone else."

Bruce frowned with her words especially the last several, knowing she was toying with him, but just the same feeling his jealousy stir at the thought of his wife spending their anniversary weekend with Clark Kent instead of him. "I thought Green Lantern was helping Kent with the installation," he said, sitting down next to her.

"He is," she simply shrugged as she took a drink of her water. "I'm sure Kal would love the offer of my help. We always work so well together."

He ground his teeth with her continued mention of the Kryptonian. Even though they were married and Diana was fully his, Clark's close friendship with her still managed to work its way under his skin like a pesky thorn that refused to be removed.

And as much as he wanted to continue this little charade, he found his ego winning out. "Well, I didn't say that I was going to be down there all weekend," he amended. "I just thought that I might spend a few hours doing some routine maintenance work and some upgrades on the equipment."

"Which you won't need me for so there's no point hanging around the Manor trying to occupy myself," she pointed out, looking up to see Dick enter with Nicholas in his arms and Tim in tow. If she had been looking, she would've seen an expression of sheer possessive jealousy flash across her husband's face. "There's my little warrior."

Diana instantly got to her feet, taking Nicholas from Dick and giving her son a kiss on his forehead before getting him settled into his highchair that sat between her and Bruce. Nicholas turned to look at his father sitting beside him, his little legs kicking in excitement at the sight of him as Diana strapped him in. Bruce quickly leaned over and nibbled on his little fingers causing his son to giggle in response before tickling his sides.

Dick and Tim stared at the scene before them before staring at one another in utter amazement. If someone had told them that their surrogate father Bruce Wayne would act like this with a baby, they would have never believed it.

Diana had accomplished the impossible in being able to cause the difficult, often ill-tempered man that they had come to know to loosen up and enjoy life a little bit. She had been the best thing that could've happened not only to Bruce, but to their whole unusual little family.

Taking a drink of his wine, Bruce was doing his best to not allow his jealousy or insecurities get the better of him, but it was beyond difficult with her playing it so cool. She wouldn't forget that their anniversary was this weekend would she?

That was something that all women remembered and every living breathing male struggled valiantly never to forget out of fear of death. But Diana was definitely not like any other woman he'd ever known.

She came from an island where marriage didn't really exist, where the ways of Man's World held little meaning. Maybe their anniversary didn't really mean anything to her. The thought suddenly hurt in a way that he had definitely not anticipated. He knew that she loved him more than anything so their anniversary should hold some sort of special place in her heart.

Casting a sidelong glance at her, he watched as she fed Nicholas, her gaze lifting to meet his full of such mischief it made him want her even more now despite the fact that she was completely toying with him at that moment. Before he could say something, though, Dick spoke up.

"So you to aren't even going to be together on your first anniversary?"

"Oh, is that this weekend?" Diana asked with mock surprise as she gave Bruce a look that spoke volumes about what was going on in her pretty little head.

_Definitely toying with me_, he thought to himself.

"Is it already?" he replied, pretending to be uninterested with the conversation, pausing to bend over to pick up Nicholas's sippy cup that he'd dropped on the floor. "I guess it must have slipped my mind."

Out of the corner of his eye, Bruce watched with growing amusement as Diana's look of mischief swiftly shifted to true anger. He was beginning to think that he must have a true death wish the way he loved riling up his wife, but he had always loved to live dangerously.

Dick and Tim both shared a panicked look before turning their attention back towards their soon to be deceased surrogate father. "Bruce, uh…I'm not sure that's a good thing to admit to," Dick ventured, his eyes sweeping back and forth between the couple sitting opposite him.

"No, it's alright, Dick," Diana coolly replied, wiping the baby food from Nicholas's face while trying to keep his quick little hands out of the bowl with little success. "If he doesn't remember the day that he married me then there's a perfectly empty guest bedroom down the hall that's not being used. I'm sure that bed will be more than comfortable for you, Bruce."

"Diana…" Bruce began.

"Whoa!" Tim exclaimed. "Bruce, you are in so much trouble!"

"Tim…" Dick groaned, kicking him under the table.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Tim glared at his brother.

"Just…let it go," Dick hissed through clenched teeth, keeping his head lowered and his attention focused solely on his plate of food. "You're going to make it worse."

"No, it's perfectly fine," Diana clipped response came as she got to her feet, picking up a messy Nicholas out of his highchair. "He has until Sunday to make up for it."

Bruce shot a polarizing glare at his two eldest. They had definitely not helped things. "Princess, I…"

"I'm going to give Nicholas his bath and get him ready for bed," Diana cut him off before abruptly turning to leave the dining room without having even touched her supper.

"I'll be up to kiss Nicholas goodnight," Bruce called to her.

He didn't receive a response from her though he knew very well that she'd heard him. He turned his annoyance on the two young men sitting across the table from him, knowing grins plastered on their faces.

"You two are absolutely no help at all," he scowled as he ate his dinner. "I know our anniversary is this weekend. I've been working on a special surprise for Diana for the last month."

"Really?" Tim lit up in surprise. "What is it?"

"Do you really think I'm going to tell you two morons?" he frowned. "Besides, she has super hearing. I'm not about to take the risk of her listening in."

"Do we get a hint?" Dick asked.

"Sure," Bruce suddenly smirked. "You two are going to cover Gotham while we're gone and help Alfred take care of Nicholas."

"Cool!" Tim exclaimed. "We're in charge while you and Di are gone?"

"Shhh…" Bruce glared fiercely at them. "It's a surprise and no you're not in charge. Alfred and Dick are in charge."

"Sweet!" Dick grinned. "Guess I'm moving back in to the Manor for the weekend, bro."

"Did you ever really move out?" Bruce asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Dick just shot him a dirty look. "Can we have a party?"

"No," Bruce adamantly stated, his tone leaving no room for further debate as he stood to his feet and set his cloth napkin on the table beside his empty plate. "And if either of you breathe a word of this to Diana, I'll…"

"We know…we know…" Dick rolled his eyes. "You better hurry and get upstairs so you can kiss and makeup before you're banished to the guest bedroom permanently."

Bruce shot him a patented bat glare before heading out the doorway just as Alfred came in with a chocolate cake. "Master Bruce, where are you going?" he called after him in confused disappointment. "Don't you want dessert?"

"Later," Bruce growled as he headed for the stairs.

"Do I even want to know?" Alfred asked the two boys as he set the cake on the table.

"Probably not, but same as usual," Dick shrugged as he dove into the cake with knife and fork. "Bruce gets himself into trouble with Di, now Bruce has to work to get himself back on her good side."

"When will that man ever learn?" Alfred sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"Ne…ber…" Tim managed to mumble with a large mouthful of chocolate cake.

"Master Timothy, you will not speak with your mouth full," Alfred scolded as he began to clear the table. "You were not raised by animals; therefore, you will not act like one."

"Sorry, Alfred," Tim meekly replied. "Did you hear about this weekend?"

"I am well aware," Alfred nodded his head. "And no you may not have a party."

"Oh come on, Alfred," Tim begged. "Just a couple of friends Saturday night to watch movies?"

"I guess that would be alright," Alfred supposed. "Who do you plan on having over?"

"I don't know," Dick replied. "Barbara, Donna, maybe Roy…"

"That would be acceptable," Alfred agreed. "Just no Wally West. That man is an accident waiting to happen."

"What?" Tim frowned. "Wally's hilarious!"

"Need I remind you, Master Timothy, of the mess he created at the wedding reception when he decided to reenact how he stopped Mr. Freeze during a bank robbery?"

"Oh ya," Dick laughed with the reminder. "That was awesome!"

"I don't believe Master Bruce thought so," Alfred frowned. "I believe murder actually crossed his mind this time."

"That was hilarious," Tim laughed, his arm falling across his stomach. "I don't think I've ever seen Flash run so fast in my life."

"Just remember that moment when you have your friends over Saturday night," Alfred admonished, leaving the boys both internally shuddering at the thought of facing an enraged Bruce if things got out of hand while he and Diana were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, this is a little racy...hope you enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 2**

Bruce made his way to Nicholas's room, entering to find Diana struggling to put his pajamas on. His energetic son was wiggling and squirming this way and that as his wife attempted to get a foot inside the onesie, but Nicholas was having none of it.

He paused to watch them for a long moment, appreciating the scene before him. It warmed his heart to see the woman he loved, the one that he called his wife with the extraordinary little life that they had made together.

It suddenly made him want her all over again even more than before as his hungry gaze travelled down the length of her body, caressing her feminine curves in sweet anticipation of being able to follow that same path with his hands and mouth.

He unexpectedly found his legs moving of their own accord, anxious to get Nicholas to bed so that he could have some much needed alone time with his beautiful wife before having to head out on patrol for the night.

His arms slipped beneath hers, his hands coming up and around to grip her shoulders. He buried his face in her silky hair as he pressed himself against her back, inhaling deeply. He smirked to himself as he felt her shiver as he sought out her ear.

"Need some help?" he murmured.

Diana couldn't suppress the gasp that slipped past her lips at the sudden feel of his hot mouth on her earlobe, teasing it slowly…mercilessly. He had her trapped between his hard muscular body and the changing table. They both knew that she could easily break free, but it felt so good and the feel of his hardened need pressing into her low back was only exciting her all the more.

"Bruce…" she whispered, fighting to concentrate on what she was doing instead of what Bruce was doing to her as his one hand slid its way down from her shoulder to cup her breast.

"Yes, Princess," he huskily breathed in her ear as he began kneading her flesh.

"You are most definitely not helping," she somehow managed to get out though how was beyond her.

"Don't I make you feel good?" he mischievously taunted her as his other hand slipped up her t-shirt to caress the taut muscles of her abdomen.

Her head fell back to rest against his shoulder, her hands leaving Nicholas in order to touch her devious husband. "You have no idea how you make me feel."

The breathless sultry tone to her voice was only spurring him on, causing his hands to begin to wander with a possessive aggressiveness that was setting her on fire with a need so powerful it was beginning to consume her.

"Bruce…the…the baby…"

Bruce paused long enough to look down at his son who was completely preoccupied with chewing on his toes at that moment. "Nicholas doesn't seem to mind if I steal you away for a while," he said as he returned to nuzzling her neck. "I need some time with my gorgeous Princess before going out to save our city."

Her hand slid up into his hair, threading her fingers through it. "You know I should make you wait until after you come home from patrol after what you tried pulling on me downstairs in the dining room."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he insisted as he gently sucked on her pulse point.

Diana bit her bottom lip, suppressing a cry of pleasure before finally finding her voice again. "Hmmm…I'm sure you don't," she breathed heavily, a plan for revenge already beginning to take shape in her mind. If he could play games then so could she and she knew just how to get to him.

"Do you think you better finish with Nicholas before he catches cold?" he smirked against her cheek, pausing to look at his son again who was only wearing his diaper.

"I would if someone would stop distracting me," she huffed, her hands returning to the task before her once more.

Forcing herself to focus despite what Bruce's hands were doing to her, she finished putting Nicholas's pajamas on. She held him up before them, smiling at her little boy who looked so much like his father. He began to kick his legs excitedly, jabbering incomprehensible words at them.

"How did we make such a beautiful little boy?" she wondered out loud.

"It's not hard to believe," he replied, resting his chin on her shoulder as he smiled at his son as well. "His mother is the most gorgeous, most amazing woman I've ever laid eyes on."

"You're just trying to flatter your way back into my bed," she shot back.

"Maybe a little, but it's still the truth, Princess," he told her, tightening his hold on her. "You are the most beautiful, sexiest woman I have ever known and I am so happy to be able to call you mine."

Diana began to giggle with his compliment as she leaned in to kiss Nicholas on the forehead. "Why is that funny?" he asked with a narrowed gaze as he finally released his hold on her so she could put their son to bed.

"You," she said as she turned to him, Bruce taking their baby in his arms and kissing him goodnight as well before placing him in his crib. "I just never thought I'd see the day that you would come out of your dark shadows enough to allow your sentimental side to show through. I knew that you were such a softy beneath all that Kevlar."

Bruce suddenly turned away from the crib, a throaty growl her only warning before his lips crashed into hers. He swiftly picked her up, turning the light off before closing the door behind him. He carried her into their bedroom next door, kicking the door closed behind him before setting her down, his hands already going for her clothes with an urgency that was driving her wild.

"I may have a soft heart at times," he breathed in her ear as his hands were already working to undo the buckle on the belt of her jeans. "But you're about to find out again just how hard you make me."

She gasped his name as he bucked his hips into her, his hands sliding up her back to unhook her bra as he ravaged her mouth, taking what he could and becoming more than anxious to give her everything that he had.

Diana moaned into his mouth as his hands quickly replaced her bra, stroking and kneading her into a heated frenzy as he walked her back towards the bed. She felt the backs of her legs hit the bed as he lowered her down to sit on the edge.

He tilted her head back, her long mane flowing down her back as he loomed over her, kissing her senseless before finally kneeling between her long legs to pay homage to her perfect body as well as to the heart that was so full of love for him.

He pulled her jeans as well as her panties off, leaving her bare before him. His hands quickly found her thighs, caressing her as he kissed her, forcing himself to slow down a little when all he wanted was to lay her back and just take her over and over again and never stop until they were both completely boneless with utter exhaustion.

Unfortunately, the communicator buzzing in his ear told him this wasn't going to be happening right now. He paused in the middle of a wet kiss on her hip bone, a growl of unadulterated frustration and lust filling his throat.

"What?" he snapped as he tapped his communicator.

"Whoa, hey Bats," Tim paused before breaking into a snicker. "Am I interrupting something?"

"What do you want?" Bruce hissed, barely keeping himself under control.

"The Bat signal just went up," Tim informed him. "Hostage situation in the ER at Gotham General."

"On my way," he bit out. "Batman out."

Diana suddenly gripped his shirt tightly and pulled him close, kissing him hard and stealing his breath before finally retreating. "I guess that will just have to hold you."

Bruce stared at her with a dark lustful smolder that sent a shiver of desire racing up her spine. The sinful smirk on her lips as she sat there completely nude before him was making it damn near impossible to move let alone think straight.

Her hand slipped to the bulge in his pants, caressing him with a wickedness that caused him to groan painfully. "Don't stay out too late," she purred, leaning in to kiss him once more before releasing him.

He stood to his feet, gasping at the painful need still unmet in his pants. He watched as she leaned back on her elbows in all her glory, staring at him with a sultry expression and that damn smirk still dancing on her lips. She crossed her legs, allowing the long limb to swing gently likely a shapely pendulum.

"What's the matter, Bruce?" she taunted. "I thought you needed to leave."

Unable to bear it a moment longer, he suddenly pounced on her, pinning her to the bed and kissing her deeply. "You are so incredibly wicked," he murmured, kissing her once more before forcing himself to leave before he really couldn't.

Diana chuckled to herself as the door closed behind him, leaving her alone with her thoughts. This was just the very beginning of the war that he had waged, the first of her plans for revenge being put into action later tonight.

XXX

Batman stood atop the Wayne Enterprises building, his black cape snapping in the brisk night wind. The white lenses of his cowl narrowed as he studied the streets below, his body tense and on edge. Even though hours had passed since he'd left Diana at the Manor, he was still keyed up, desperate to return to her.

Unfortunately, that would have to wait for at least a couple more hours.

After having helped diffuse the volatile situation at Gotham General, he'd stopped a carjacking, two assaults, a mugging and an attempted rape. Not bad for one night's work. He needed to make another round of the city before he could call it a night, before he could slide into bed next to his wife and begin the second half of his night.

He loved coming back after patrol to find her in bed waiting to welcome him home, to feel her warm luscious frame molded against his. It was the true meaning of paradise in every way imaginable, going beyond anything he'd ever dreamed possible or had experienced before with another woman.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his cowled nose forcing himself to focus on patrol and not on his wife. Thinking of being with Diana was only going to make the next couple of hours next to unbearable.

"Batman to Robin," he snapped in obvious irritation. "Report."

"Just stopped a burglary," Tim responded somewhat breathlessly.

"Need any backup?"

"No, just finishing up."

"Okay…Batman out."

Firing his grappling, he was soon soaring through the air, a dark figure of justice against the star-filled night sky. He landed on the balls of his feet on top of the Gotham National Bank, his cape falling to drape perfectly around him, shrouding him from view.

He silently made his way to the street, keeping to the shadows as he moved, a part of the night and yet its ever-vigilant protector. He paused before a small family owned jewelry store, his gaze falling on the necklace that he'd been eyeing for the last several weeks now. He'd been coming here over his lunch breaks from Wayne Enterprises in search of the perfect anniversary gift.

The elderly jewelry store owner had told him about a couple of new collections that were supposed to be coming in yesterday. He'd been anxious to see if he found anything that he liked better than the diamond pendant necklace that had initially captured his attention.

His narrowed gaze travelled over the numerous items that lay spread out before him, sparkling in the soft lighting that had been focused upon them to attract the attention of those passing by.

His eyes fell on a gorgeous necklace and bracelet set, a diamond with a sapphire resting on either side. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, knowing it was the one he wanted to get for her, but he quickly forced his excitement down. It wouldn't do any good if the Batman was caught out in public with a silly lovesick grin on his face.

How intimidating would that be? Not very terror-inducing that was for sure.

"Batman…"

The unexpected purr of his alter ego so low and sultry in his ear sent an immediate shiver up his spine, taking him by surprise. He instantly straightened up and looked around before responding, fearing she was spying on him right at that moment.

"Batman here," he rasped, moving to an alley where he was sure he wouldn't be heard, his panic rising. "Is something wrong? How's the little bat?"

"Fine," Diana reassured him, her smile evident in her voice. "I just missed you. You left rather abruptly tonight."

Bruce's jaw clenched almost imperceptibly with the reminder, images of his wife ready and waiting for him on their bed in all her god-blessed glory flashing through his mind. His uniform was suddenly growing rather tight, his curiosity piqued.

"What are you up to?" he suspiciously asked.

"Nothing," she innocently replied.

The way that she said 'nothing' caused him to picture her lying naked in bed twirling a lock of raven hair around her finger. The image only made him hotter for her and the fact that she was up to something didn't help any either.

"What are you doing?" he demanded to know, the voice of the Bat coming through in every single word.

This flirty little game was getting him very hot under the cowl. It was unlike her to contact him like this when he was out on patrol, wanting to just talk. She was unquestionably up to no good and it had definitely intrigued him.

"Just laying here in this big bed alone…beneath the satin sheets…naked…" she paused, letting the words sink in before continuing. "You left me in desperate need of some relief."

Bruce swallowed hard, his heart beginning to hammer with every sultry syllable that danced so erotically on her tongue. "It was definitely not my choice," he managed to get out, his voice strangled and deeper than before. He swore he could hear her smirk through the communicator, knowing how she was affecting him.

"Well, if you aren't able to come take of me, I guess I'll just have to take care of it myself," she taunted him.

She heard a low growl of frustration before she ever heard his voice. "What was that, Batman?" she sweetly teased. "I didn't quite make out that last part."

"You are in so much trouble when I return," he hissed with deadly intention of making her pay when he returned home, his response eliciting a soft chuckle.

"I'm not sure I can wait that long," she groaned with a slight whimper at the end. "You're the only one who knows how I like to be touched and where. Remember that sensitive little spot on my inner left thigh near my…"

"Damn you," he growled, his fists clenched tight, his breathing coming in ragged exerted pants now. "You are so incredibly bad."

"Whatever do you mean?" she innocently pouted, causing him to imagine her beautiful bottom lip protruding ever so slightly in that teasing way that always got to him. "I'm just telling you where I like you to touch me...with your hands…your mouth…your tongue…"

Her words trailed off with a heated string of throaty moans that nearly buckled his knees. He was so hard right now it was beyond painful, his heart nearly pounding right out of his Kevlar-covered chest. If he didn't find release soon, he'd never be able to walk straight for the rest of patrol.

"Too bad you can't join me," she breathed. "Maybe next time. Enjoy your patrol….Batman."

His next words came in a heated rush, a fierce demanding quality that told her that she had just earned herself her first victory in this war that he had begun. "I'm on my way. Batman out."

Diana smiled in triumph as the communicator suddenly went silent. She swore she heard him cursing her name just before the communicator had cut out. She momentarily considered calling him back, but thought better of it. She didn't want to distract him to the point he got himself hurt. She just wanted to make him pay for playing with her earlier about their first anniversary.

Rolling over in their bed, she snuggled deeper into the satin sheets that surrounded her, knowing he would make it home in record time tonight.

XXX

"Batman to Robin."

"Yah, what's up?"

"Something I need to take care of," he stated, keeping the details to a minimum.

"Are you alright?" Robin asked, suddenly concerned. "You don't sound like yourself. You sound like you're in pain."

"It's nothing," he barked. "Finish up and head home if you want."

There was a long pause before Robin finally replied. "Alright, but I still have a couple more rounds to make."

"Fine, just call if Batgirl if you need back up," he told him. "Batman out."

Shooting his grappling, he proceeded to head towards where he had left the Batmobile, more than desperate to get home before he exploded. Landing beside his car, he quickly unlocked it, climbing inside and heading home in record speed and time.

Diana definitely knew what she was doing tonight, calling him like that while he was out on patrol and couldn't do a damn thing about the arousal she was inciting deep within him. And she knew just how to do it too. Her voice alone could turn him on.

If this was some sort of payback for pretending not to know it was their first anniversary this coming weekend, then two could play at this little game. He was not going to go down without some sort of retaliation.

The thought of this seductive game of cat and mouse that had suddenly developed so innocently between them caused him to be even more excited then he already was. There was just something so damn sexy about trying to get the better of his Amazon wife, her attempts at trying to unnerve him when he least expected it.

If he had known that married life with his princess would be this thrilling, he would have proposed to her the moment he'd met her, forcing all those demons that lingered inside of him to the darkest recesses of his mind where they couldn't interfere.

The Batmobile raced into the Batcave in record time, the Dark Knight leaping from the car before the engine had truly shut down. He began removing his cape and cowl, throwing them on the ground as he stormed through the cave to the stairs that led up into the Manor.

The gauntlets followed next, fierce determination punctuating his every step as he raced up the steps. His Kevlar uniform top was sent flying next, falling who knows where into the darkness of the cave before he plowed through the entrance into the Manor.

He raced through his home and up the stairs, a sole destination in mind – his wife.

There was only one place he wanted to be and that was inside of her…now. It took every ounce of self-control he had to make it to his bedroom, the door opening and closing none too quietly as he stalked towards the bed to find his wife naked and asleep.

_Oh no you are not,_ _Princess…not after what you just did to me tonight_, he growled to himself.

Swiftly removing his boots, he pounced on his wife, positioning himself over her sleeping form. Bruce's mouth descended on her with a fierce vengeance, attacking her face, throat, and chest, devouring as much of her as he possibly could.

A smirk spread across her face at the feel of him on top of her, pinning her to mattress. He was kissing and touching her, stroking and squeezing everywhere he could possibly touch. His actions were rough with unbridled passion, a sweet desperation that only she had been able to create in him.

His mouth crashed into hers, all but erasing that smirk from her lips. "Need something?" she managed to gasp as his hand reached between them, his fingers beginning to tease her.

She arched her body, moving her hips and silently begging him for more. "You know…exactly…what you did…you little minx," he growled something fierce, his voice already strangled and choked with an overwhelming need that demanded attention.

"Bruce…" His name came as a sharp pleading moan as she dug her fingernails into his back. "Please…"

"Want something, Princess?" he smirked as he ravished her with his mouth and his hands.

The soft sounds of Nicholas's whimpering cry suddenly drifted into their room, filling their ears. "Bruce…our son…" she managed to get out between exerted breaths.

"He can wait a few minutes," he told her, replacing his fingers with himself and causing her to cry out. "I can't."

The roughness of his voice, the heat of his passion that he was unleashing on her was quickly driving her closer and closer to the edge. Nicholas's crying was soon drowned out by the sounds of their love making, skin against skin, breaths shared and exchanged as well as sensual kisses.

"Di…Diana…" he panted, the feel of her so hot and tight around him driving him wild.

He loved how passionate and forceful their love making was at times, not needing to hold anything back for fear of hurting her. He could be himself, show her exactly how he felt about her, what he wanted and needed from her without having to be gentle.

And she always matched him hard kiss for hard kiss, rough stroke for rough stroke. Occasionally, he drove her passions to the point where she began to forget her own strength, but he wore those bruises and scratches with more pride than she could possibly comprehend, more than pleased to be marked as hers.

Unable to hold on any longer, Bruce came with a violent release, pumping wildly into her and pushing her into her own climax. He continued to kiss her, refusing to leave her body or let her out from under him despite his son's growing wails.

He was still hard with a need that refused to be tamed for long. He kissed along her throat, his lips and tongue caressing the soft sheen of sweat on her skin that he alone had created. He felt the intense need to move his hips again, to continue despite the sweet boneless euphoria that still lingered in his veins.

"Bruce…" she breathed heavily, pausing to moan at the feel of him still hard inside of her. His endurance and stamina never ceased to amaze or please her. "Nicholas…"

"Fine," he frowned, kissing her hard. "But this is far from finished, Princess."

"I can tell," she giggled as she contracted her inner walls around him, making his eyes roll back in his head as he pressed his forehead into her shoulder.

With a frustrated growl, Bruce finally relented, rolling off of her and allowing her to leave their bed. He watched with unabated hunger as she gracefully strode towards the chair where her silk robe laid waiting for her.

She cast him a mischievous smirk as she pulled her robe on, pulling her long dark mane free from the silk covering. "Don't move," she ordered him before leaving to check on her son.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he huskily replied, lying on his side, his head propped up on his hand as he watched her.

She had been more than naughty tonight, getting him all aroused like she had when he couldn't do anything about it right away. She was definitely going to pay for it, leaving him more than anxious for revenge on his sexy princess.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Bruce stood just inside the kitchen with his arms folded against his chest, watching as his wife fed his son or at least attempted to. Nicholas was anything but interested in the baby food Diana was attempting to feed him instead fascinated with her omelet that sat untouched on her plate.

Son's building frustration readily equaled that of his mother's as she tried to "choo-choo" the spoon of baby food to his mouth again for the umpteenth time. By the amount of baby food covering his son's face and shirt, he could tell that Diana's previous attempts had been very unsuccessful so far.

Nicholas pinched his lips tightly shut; shaking his head furiously in a stubborn yet valiant attempt to avoid what was coming. The blue-eyed glare he gave his mother caused Bruce to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing, immense pride swelling in his chest. He was most definitely his son in every way imaginable.

If that wasn't a patented bat glare, he didn't know what was. Watching him, Bruce couldn't help but feel as though he was looking into a mirror of his past, seeing himself as he was at that age, Diana every bit like his perpetually long-suffering mother.

"Nicholas," Diana cooed with unbelievable patience as she held the spoon out before him. "It's yummy…and it's your favorite."

Nicholas finally opened his mouth, giving Diana a false sense of victory as he seemingly accepted the food only to have it be spit out all over her. "Nicholas Wayne!" she cried in stunned annoyance, grabbing a napkin and attempting to wipe the offending food off of her shirt.

A familiar snicker could be heard from the other side of the kitchen, one that no doubt belonged to their butler. "Miss Diana," Alfred said with much amusement coloring his voice. "Might I suggest giving him a small taste of your eggs? He might enjoy it much more than his puréed blueberries."

"I guess Leslie did say we could start trying him on soft foods," Diana frowned, looking down in annoyance at her blouse covered in splotches of blue.

Bruce decided now was a very good time to make his presence known, coming to his wife's rescue. "Need some help, Princess?" he asked, doing his best to keep the laughter from his voice, but he knew he had failed miserably. She looked so cute covered in blueberry baby food, the look of annoyance on her beautiful face. He loved the fiery spirit that always burned deep within her.

"Might as well let you try," she replied with a frown, "especially since you've been standing there watching me fight with him for some time now."

Bruce kissed her on the forehead in a silent apology before settling down in his chair on the other side of Nicholas's highchair. "Hey there, little man," he greeted his son, his hand falling to caress the back of his head. "Are you giving your mom fits?"

"That's putting it mildly," Alfred quipped from behind the kitchen counter as he finished making Bruce's breakfast. "It seems to me it's far more like father, like son."

"Bruce was just like this when he was Nicholas's age?" Diana asked, casting a glance at the elderly butler, his eyes brightly gleaming with joy as well as remembrance. "Why am I not the least bit surprised?"

"Hey, I was a very well behaved little boy," he insisted as he picked up the spoon to try again. "In fact, I was the perfect child."

Alfred's snort of laughter caught both of their attention, causing them to stop and look at the butler. "That's not quite the way I remember it, Master Bruce. I believe I spent more time cleaning the walls and floors of the kitchen and dining room because of your numerous fits when it came to food. You and your mother were wrapped up in quite the battle of wills back then."

"Yes, well you're getting up there in years, Alfred," Bruce reminded him with mock indignation. "A person's memory can be unpredictable at your age."

"I will have you know my memory is as sharp as it has ever been," Alfred replied with chin held high, coming around the counter with skillet and spatula in hand to place the omelet on Bruce's plate. "In fact, I remember your mother wearing your baby food much like Miss Diana is now. It seems the apple doesn't fall very far from the proverbial tree."

"Must have been some other child you're remembering," he told him with a shake of his head. "Either that or this isn't really my son."

Diana bit back a grin as Bruce began to feed Nicholas the baby food, anxiously anticipating the moment that he would be sharing her same fate. His shirt and pants weren't about to last long at the rate Nicholas was going this morning.

"Oh, this is most definitely your child, Mr. Wayne," she vehemently countered. "He's exactly like you not only in looks but also a very iron-will personality."

"I still think he gets his stubbornness from you," Bruce readily decided. "This can't all be just from me."

Diana frowned in confusion as she watched Nicholas readily eat his breakfast as Bruce fed him, happily accepting the pureed blueberries and forgetting all about his mother's omelet. "How are you doing that?" she demanded with a quirked eyebrow, her agitation growing.

"I'm his favorite," Bruce shrugged, flashing her a cocky grin as he fed his son. "Besides, he's daddy's little sidekick, aren't you, Nicholas?"

Nicholas kicked his feet and waved his arms in an excited string of babbling squeals that finally ended in a jabbered "Dada". Bruce and Diana froze at the unexpected word, staring at each other in shock before turning to look at Alfred who was staring back with equal surprise.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" Diana asked, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "Did you just say 'Dada'?"

Nicholas babbled again in response, another string of indecipherable words that ended in a more pronounced "Dada" this time as he grabbed hold of his father's finger as if to prove his point. Diana looked up sharply at Bruce to see his eyes growing moist, a goofy grin on his face that told her that his heart had just swelled beyond measure with his son's first word.

"Bruce," Diana softly murmured, tears suddenly glistening in her own eyes to see her husband so happy.

Bruce looked over at her, his smile growing even wider with the pride and love that he felt at that moment. "I can't believe he said it," he slowly shook his head in disbelief. "His first word was 'Dada'."

Alfred came up behind Nicholas, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on the top of his head with equal pride as his parents. "Well, I guess this deserves a celebratory bath, doesn't it, Master Nicholas?" he said, picking up the little boy covered in pureed blueberries before taking him upstairs to his nursery.

Diana smiled as she watched her husband. "I'm so glad that you were able to hear his first word."

"It was amazing," he thoughtfully replied. "I never thought it would…that it…"

"Would mean so much to you?" she knowingly finished for him.

He slowly nodded his head, gathering his emotions and tucking them deep in his heart to dwell on later when he was alone. "Dick and Tim were older when they came to me. I've never raised a baby before let alone my own."

"This is all new to me too," she reminded him, affectionately caressing the back of his hand with her thumb. "I love every single moment of this life with you, Bruce. Thank you for being willing to share it with me, for giving me Nicholas."

Bruce moved the highchair out of the way before scooting his chair closer to hers. He reached over to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, his hand lingering against her cheek. "I'm the one who should be thanking you, Princess," he softly said as he stared into the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. "If you hadn't been so patient, so persistent I would've missed out on so much in life. I'm just sorry his first word wasn't Mama."

She gently shook her head as her smile spread, her hand coming to rest against his still cupped against her cheek to keep it there. "I'm not," she grinned. "Just seeing the sheer joy on your face when he said that was worth more than the world to me."

Bruce smiled in return as he leaned in close, his tongue sneaking out to lick baby food off of her face just to the right of her mouth. "Mmmm…blueberries," he whispered before finally finding her lips and kissing her slowly…deeply, his hand sliding from her cheek up into her hair.

Diana happily parted her lips for him, tasting the blueberries on his tongue as he greedily drank her in. Her hands moved to caress his chest through his dress shirt, memories of last night heating her blood again as they kissed for several long minutes, just savoring each other's closeness. To say last night had been wildly passionate would have been an understatement of great proportions.

"I would've thought you'd be more than satisfied this morning especially after last night," she murmured as he kissed his way to her ear.

"Not even close, Princess," he breathed in her ear, his tongue sneaking out to trace the edge of it. "I know exactly what you were doing last night when you called me while I was on patrol and all I have to say is – the…game…is…on."

Diana's soft giggle turned into a throaty moan, shivers racing through her as the fine hairs prickled on the back of her neck. "I…I don't know what you mean," she innocently gasped.

He nibbled on her earlobe, teasing it insistently before finally responding. "You've been warned," he whispered. "It could come at any time, any place, when you least expect it. Anything that happens from here on out is not my fault."

"You started it…with that whole performance you put on in the dining room," she replied, tilting her head to the side.

"What performance?" he asked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Do you have any idea what I would do to you if you truly forgot our first anniversary?" she reminded him, her fingers raking through his black hair.

"Hmmm…sounds intriguing," he chuckled softly. "Maybe I'd like to find out."

"I think you're smarter than that to risk your life so dangerously," she breathed.

A stern throat clearing from behind caused them to stop. "Master Nicholas is all bathed and ready for the day," Alfred announced as he entered the kitchen with baby in hand.

"Thank you, Alfred," Diana said, taking her son into her arms.

Bruce smirked at the rosy blush that rose to her cheeks at having been caught in an intimate embrace, loving how her entire countenance practically glowed now. It definitely wasn't the first time Alfred had caught them making out and it certainly wasn't going to be the last, not with how active their sex life was and the fact they could barely keep their hands off each other.

"Nicholas has his appointment with J'onn today," Diana reminded her husband.

"I know," Bruce said, taking his son into his arms. "That's why I postponed the board meeting until tomorrow."

"You did?" Diana asked, surprised and yet touched.

Bruce held Nicholas in his lap as he began to eat his breakfast. "Do you really think I would miss his appointment?"

"No, but I was going to offer to move it to tomorrow so you could come with us," she replied.

"No, this is far too important, more than some board meeting."

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" she whispered, leaning in and kissing him.

"I believe it may have been mentioned somewhere between your constant moaning and crying my name last night," he softly told her with an arrogant smirk on his lips as he took a drink of his coffee. "It's a good thing I sound proofed our bedroom or no one would be getting any sleep around this house."

"Need I remind you weren't very quiet either," she pointed out to him with a cocked eyebrow. "You're begging was becoming pretty demanding not to mention quite boisterous between the string of swear words."

"Well, if someone wouldn't keep teasing me to the point of driving me out of my mind," he murmured under his breath.

"I don't believe you were complaining when I finally let you…" she shot back.

Bruce quickly looked at his watch, ready to change the subject that was causing an uncomfortable twitch in his pants. "Look at the time," he suddenly announced before downing the last of his coffee. "We really should get going. We don't want to keep J'onn waiting."

Diana gave him a smoldering look over the lip of her coffee cup, one that caused him to think twice about leaving already. "You can't exactly go to the Watchtower dressed like Bruce Wayne you know," she reminded him as she stood to her feet, taking Nicholas back. "And I definitely need to change before I leave."

"I'm heading down to the cave to change now," he reassured her. "I thought I'd let you and Nicholas head up first and then I'd meet you up there a few minutes later."

"And just happen to stop by the infirmary to see J'onn while I'm there for Nicholas's appointment," Diana said. "Clever."

"Exactly," he smirked.

"Do you plan on taking him to the founders' meeting scheduled for this afternoon as well?" Alfred asked as he began cleaning the dishes from the table.

"Either that or take him to daycare on the Watchtower," Bruce suggested.

"I thought it was so sweet of you to suggest we start a daycare on the Watchtower," Diana told him as she gathered up Nicholas's diaper bag.

Bruce snorted with her comment. "I had no choice with the number of superheroes hooking up and having babies. Instead of a symbol of justice and defense, the Watchtower has turned into a damn orbiting nursery."

Diana giggled with Bruce's frown before turning her attention back to her son, knowing that past the fierce scowl on her husband's handsome face beat a very soft heart. "I bet you can play with baby Rex, Nicholas."

"Looks like you're going to have the house all to yourself for a change, old man," Bruce told Alfred as he began to follow Diana out of the kitchen. "Should be a peaceful day to yourself for a change."

Alfred nodded his head slowly with Bruce's words. He'd been helping him with the plans for their anniversary getaway and a few more details still needed to be taken care of. Having Diana and Nicholas gone all day would certainly help him finish those details without having to do it in privacy behind a locked door or with a Meta with super hearing wandering around the house.

The elderly butler couldn't help but smile to himself as he bid them good day. This was exactly what he and no doubt Bruce's parents had wanted for him in his life all along, a beautiful woman who would love him and build a family with him.

And now that Bruce finally had it, Alfred couldn't be happier for him.

XXX

Batman stalked down the corridor of the Watchtower in his usual intimidating fashion, a fierce scowl planted firmly on his cowled face. It was so incongruent with what he was actually feeling inside, but he had a role to play and the most important people in this world to him to protect. It couldn't get out that it was not only Bruce Wayne that was married to Wonder Woman, but the Batman himself.

It would put everyone he loved in great danger, his son Nicholas becoming a serious target for the scum of the earth to try to take away from them. The thought made him ill to his core. The son of Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman was already a very tempting target, drawing unwanted attention. Finding out he was the son of Batman as well would make it a thousand times worse.

He somehow managed to keep his legs moving despite the overwhelming feeling that they were about to buckle with the notion of someone taking his son or even his wife from him. He steeled himself against the sudden flame of rage pumping through his system, the powerful stirring of distant fears and insecurities that he'd thought he'd finally defeated since marrying Diana all trying to work its way to the surface.

He needed to focus on all the amazing things in his life right now, not dwelling on the depressing what-ifs that came into his dangerous world. He would not allow himself to be swallowed up by that dark brooding demon inside of him that liked to rear its ugly head and steal his peace, his joy, his focus on the light in his life instead of the darkness.

Making his way to the infirmary, Bruce's worry shifted to what Nicholas's appointment might bring them. It was his eight month checkup, a battery of tests to see if any Meta abilities were beginning to manifest itself yet.

So far, they hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary, but they wanted to be ready for anything. He knew without question that they would love Nicholas no matter what powers he eventually possessed, but at the same time Bruce wanted to be prepared, make sure contingency plans were in place for every scenario he could think of.

The doors swooshed open as the Batman approached, his scowl softening minutely as he spotted his wife and son in the far corner of the infirmary with the Martian Manhunter. Nicholas was sitting on the medical table, Diana standing behind him with a worried expression on her beautiful face and J'onn standing before him with an uncharacteristic smile.

Nicholas was giggling at the Martian, trying to grab his fingers only to have them disappear as soon as he caught hold of them. J'onn looked to be having just as much fun as Nicholas at that moment as Bruce made his way to them.

He came to stand beside J'onn, an aberrant smile on the Batman's face that he couldn't have held in even if he tried. Nicholas looked up at the black cowled hero, not even flinching or crying at the sight of him.

"Dada," Nicholas cried with great excitement, his whole face lighting up as he reached out to his father as if all of this was completely normal.

"Well, that didn't exactly work, did it?" Bruce muttered with a frown as he reached out to pick his son up. "Hi, little partner. Are you being good for Uncle J'onn?"

Nicholas jabbered something in reply as he ran his little fingers over his father's cowl, completely intrigued by the costume and not the least bit afraid. Diana couldn't help but smile at the sight of her husband in full Batman uniform holding their son. It was just about the sexiest thing she'd ever seen next to seeing Bruce Wayne holding their son.

White slits from a cowl met blue eyes beginning to darken with lust, taking him by surprise. He felt a sudden stuttering of his heart, practically reading her mind by the heated look in her eye. He turned his head slightly, pressing a kiss to his son's temple, his eyes never leaving hers. He suddenly felt the overwhelming need to take her back to her quarters.

Was she already making her next move before he'd even had a chance for his own revenge yet?

"J'onn has already started running some tests," Diana informed him, coming around to the other side of the medical table, her hand coming to rest on her son's back. "He feels he's doing very well for his age. He should start crawling any day now. I was telling J'onn how he's already been pulling himself up on all fours."

"I'm sure it won't be long before little Nicholas will be walking," J'onn agreed, unable to miss the intense feelings of love and happiness that exuded from the little boy's parents.

It warmed his heart to see them so happy together. It had felt at times as though the two of them would never get together, but then Bruce finally opened himself up to Diana, allowing her into his heart as well as his life. Little did the Amazon Princess know she'd been in his heart for longer than she could have imagined, fear as well as demons from his past causing him to keep her at arm's length despite his intense feelings for her.

Batman pretended to gobble up his son's fingers as Nicholas intently worked at figuring out how to remove his father's cowl with very little success. Bruce finally pulled the cowl back, revealing his face to his son who clapped his hands with glee as if his father had just preformed a magic trick.

"Have you been able to pick up on any Meta abilities yet?" Bruce asked, turning his attention to the Martian at his right.

"Nothing overtly obvious yet such as super strength, but he is still quite young," J'onn explained. "It could take a few more months to manifest itself or it could take years. It's very hard to say. This is all new territory."

"He's perfect no matter what happens," Diana firmly replied. She never knew her heart could hold so much love until she'd had a child with the man who seemed linked to her very soul.

"I know he is, Princess," Bruce agreed. "I just want to be prepared for anything, no matter how little or big."

"I just don't want your paranoia to extend to our children," she confessed, worrying lining her face. "I won't have them living in fear because of who their parents are. I want them to have as normal a life as possible."

"Children?" Bruce looked up sharply, shock written on his face.

Diana looked at him somewhat concerned. "We do plan on having more, don't we?"

"Yes…probably one or two," he thoughtfully said.

"I think I'd like that," she replied, the corners of her lips curling seductively. "We might want to get started working on that soon, Batman."

Bruce felt warm arousal begin to swim in the pit of his stomach with her words, hearing her talk about this in front of J'onn. Of course, it wasn't like he couldn't read their minds or feel the desire that was heating the air around them. The sexual tension in the room was sizzling.

If they were alone, he'd have pushed her down on one of these medical beds by now, pushing that dress up her smooth thighs and having his way with her. "Yes, we will," he huskily rasped, pulling his cowl back over his face to help hide the lustful desire that he knew was written all over his face.

"I have a few more tests to run and then we should be finished," J'onn announced, noticing the way things were growing rather intense around him. "I won't have those test results back until tomorrow or the day after."

"Just let us know when you get them back," Batman replied. "I need to take care of a few things while I'm here before the founders' meeting this afternoon."

"Anything I can help with?" Diana asked.

"No, just some basic maintenance work and a couple of upgrades," he told her, kissing Nicholas before handing his son over to the Martian. "I'll catch up with you later."

Diana nodded her head, returning his soft sweet kiss before he left, his black cape billowing behind him as he passed through the doors. "He's definitely up to something," she murmured more to herself than her mind-reading friend.

"I can neither confirm nor deny knowledge of anything," J'onn maintained, holding Nicholas in his arms.

Diana eyed him suspiciously, but thought better of asking him what he knew. She knew he'd never reveal information accidently or inadvertently gleaned while being in Bruce's presence no matter how badly she wanted to know.

J'onn turned to take Nicholas over to the scanner, a small mischievous smile on his face. "However, I would be happy to help you if you need any assistance planning an attack in your little game with Bruce."

Diana could feel the heat immediately rising to her cheeks as she followed behind the Martian. He had definitely picked up on their sensual thoughts, the taunting sexual war that had been waged against one another.

As embarrassing as it was, she couldn't help but feel as though J'onn's help just might turn out to be invaluable.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Diana floated in the air in an attempt to catch even a glimpse of a black cape in the midst of the choking black smoke and chaos swirling around them. It was as if the pits of Tartarus had just split open in the heart of Metropolis.

Bombs continued to erupt in rapid succession, buildings shaking and crumbling to their foundations as people ran for cover. Turning, she suddenly caught sight of Shayera lifting a woman above the smoke, whisking her away to safety as Green Lantern used his ring to hold back a brick wall about to collapse, but still no sign of Batman.

Most of the downtown businesses had already begun the evacuation process when the first bomb had detonated, creating a mass of chaos by the time they had transported to the site. Some League members were running ground control under J'onn's supervision while others were assisting from the air.

There'd just begun their founders' meeting when the call had come in letting them know of the trouble brewing in Metropolis. All seven foundering members had responded to the emergency as well as a few others, immediately transporting down to the city under siege.

Diana knew that someone had gone to a lot of trouble to get their attention or they were after something in particular. Either way, they needed to be stopped before more people got hurt.

She couldn't suppress the cough that the thick dark smoke was creating, wracking her body as fumes from a gas line began to fill the air. She quickly followed the building smell, needing to get to it as soon as possible before the city was completely leveled.

Flash suddenly sped past her, working to contain the smoke that was burning her eyes as well as her lungs. She abruptly turned to find Batman much closer than she had expected. He was crouched low with some gadget in hand, a breathing mask covering his cowled face as he scanned the area for more bombs.

She should've known that he'd be there. He was always there; ready to protect her with his life if necessary. Even long before he'd finally admitted his feelings for her, he'd always been there watching her back just like she always watched his.

It was an innate need in both of them, an instinct that had to be followed. It was like they were connected to each other, their spirits linked long before they'd ever met, drawn to each other in a very powerful yet amazing way.

She watched as he removed his breathing mask, their eyes locking in that briefest of moments. A volume of things were spoken and emotions expressed as Diana smiled at the small smirk he flashed her before firing his grappling and taking off towards another building to make sure it was all clear. She quickly turned and raced towards the leaking gas line, relieved to know that her husband for still safe for the moment.

Batman swung through a broken window into a large building that was still standing. He quickly began scanning the area for any signs of people still inside as well as any more bombs that had yet to be discovered.

He released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, more than relieved to have found Diana safe. When the smoke had flooded the area and the bombs had started going off, his heart had nearly stopped knowing that she'd been inside one of the buildings helping the evacuations.

Thankfully, he'd been able to find her despite the smoke, relieved she'd only received a few cuts and scrapes so far for her efforts.

He knew they had promised each other not to lose focus in a mission by trying to find the other or worrying about each other, but it was damn near impossible when he was forced to watch his wife fly directly into a building that could explode at any second.

He didn't care what it took. He would always be there for her, ready to catch her if she ever fell. Nothing in this world meant more to him than she did.

He just hoped that they made it out of this mission with minimal injuries. He had big plans for them this coming weekend, plans that included him and her and no clothing for three glorious days.

The thought of being at each other's mercy for that long without any interruptions was already causing him to grow aroused. He quickly tamped down on the lustful thoughts fighting to take over. They had a job to do and he couldn't afford to make a mistake or there wouldn't even be a first anniversary to celebrate together.

Heading towards the doorway on the other side of the room, Bruce felt a sudden flutter of wind hit him a second before being struck from behind by what felt like a freight train, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs.

Before he knew it, he found himself standing outside on a nearby rooftop on another building as a blue and red blur raced back into the building Bruce had just been in. He didn't have much of a chance to process it before Clark was standing on the rooftop beside him with a now disarmed bomb in his hand.

"Someone has to make sure that you stay alive when Diana's preoccupied," Clark grinned at him.

"I can take care of myself," Batman snarled at the Boy Scout, unhappy with the insinuation that he couldn't or that he needed protecting because he wasn't a Meta.

"Hey, I'm only doing it to look out for myself," Clark shrugged, brushing off his friend's annoyance. "I'm not about to be left high and dry with a distraught enraged Amazon on my hands because you decided to get yourself killed. There would be absolutely no consoling her or trying to keep her from getting revenge."

Batman's glare softened almost imperceptibly with his confession. "Thanks," he muttered with a scowl before scanning the area for his wife. He knew his friend was right about Diana, but it still didn't appease his pride any.

"Any idea who could be behind all of this?" Clark frowned as he used his x-ray vision to scan for any more bombs.

Before Batman could respond, Diana's voice came over both of their ear pieces, her voice cracking. "Fou…Kill…Croc…go…aft…now…"

"Diana, come in…you're breaking up," Batman stated, his scowl deepening on his face as his pulse began to race. "Where are you?"

Static filled their ears as fear filled his heart once more. "Diana!" he growled.

Crackling static finally cleared enough to catch the words "need backup" followed by another cacophony of explosions. "Diana!" Batman yelled. "Diana, come in!"

Nothing but silence filled their communicators as they stared at one another in helplessness, stunned disbelief written on their faces. "Superman to Watchtower."

"Watchtower here," Steele replied. "What do you need, Superman?"

"We need Wonder Woman's location ASAP," he told him.

"She's approximately four miles southeast of you," he informed them.

"Is she moving?" Batman suddenly cut in.

"Negative," Steele stated. "She's static."

"Standby, Steele," Superman said. "We may need an emergency transport to the infirmary."

"I'll standby."

Without another word, Superman grabbed Batman under his arms and took off in the direction that Steele had indicated. Batman sent a mental message to J'onn who was supervising ground control and rescue.

"J'onn, Diana's in trouble," Bruce silently told him. "Clark and I are going after her."

"I'll continue to coordinate here," J'onn silently replied. "Contact us if you need back up."

"Batman to Lantern."

"Lantern here," John grunted as he used his ring to move large slabs of rubble out of the way.

"Wonder Woman's in trouble," he told him. "You're in charge of air control."

"You got it."

The Metropolis landscape was a complete smudge of colors as Superman raced to Diana's last known location. Batman felt as though his heart was about to pound right out of his chest as they drew near, unsure if his wife was even alive or not.

He wanted to vomit at that moment as they suddenly spotted curling smoke in the distance. "Metropolis National Bank," Clark angrily stated, interrupting Batman's tormented thoughts. "I should have known."

"That was their real target all along," Bruce growled, his scowl deepening. "The other was just a distraction to keep us busy."

They drew near to find mass chaos much like what was occurring downtown, alarms blaring as people ran for cover. They spotted a huge gaping hole in the side of the bank, rubble everywhere but no sign of Wonder Woman.

Batman was off and running by the time Superman released him, his boots hitting the pavement with a fierce determination to find the woman he loved. His jaw was clenched, his entire body taut with fear of what he might find. He didn't have to go far though before Copperhead suddenly emerged from the hole in the bank wall, a bag of money clutched tightly in each greedy hand.

With a terror-inducing sneer on his lips, Batman pulled a batarang; ready to take on the criminal as Bizzaro unexpectedly appeared, flying out into the afternoon sunlight and heading straight for Superman who still hovered close by in the air.

"You not stop Bizarro this time!" he yelled as he tightened his fists to slam into Superman who was already anticipating his approach.

"I told Croc he should've waited a little longer," Copperhead hissed, his eyes gleaming with anger. "Now we've got the whole Justice League coming down on us!"

"Where is Wonder Woman?" Batman growled, not in the mood for small talk.

Just then a loud explosion echoed through the air as Wonder Woman was suddenly thrown backwards through the bank wall, slamming hard into a nearby building. "There she is," Copperhead grinned wickedly, pointing at the Amazon warrior.

Diana slumped to the ground as bits of brick and mortar rained down upon her, coating her in fine white dust. She got up on all fours, trying to gather her senses before unsteadily getting to her feet, blue fire blazing in her eyes.

It didn't take long for her to shake it off and storm back towards the hole she'd just been thrown through, Killer Croc standing there watching her with a smug look on his vile face. "Coming back for more, Wonder Woman?"

Diana ground her teeth with a fierce vengeance that almost made Batman feel sorry for Killer Croc…almost. Batman turned his attention back to Copperhead who had been watching the interaction with amusement.

Turning to see the Dark Knight's focus was back on him again, his amusement swiftly fell away. "Now, don't do anything rash there, Bats," Copperhead took a step back, holding up his hands in defense but refusing to release the bags of money.

"Only dishing out what you more than deserve," Batman rasped gravelly at the villain, his hands clenched tightly.

"This really wasn't my idea, you know," Copperhead confessed. "It was actually all Luthor's doing."

"Well, seeing how he's not here, I guess you'll have to take his punishment until I can get my hands on him," the Caped Crusader glowered as he inched closer to the snake before him.

Batman blocked a swing by Copperhead, kicking out his leg and knocking him off of his feet just as Killer Croc came flying out of the bank through the same hole he'd just sent Diana out of. Overhead, he could hear Superman swapping blows with Bizzaro, the powerful force of their strikes vibrating in his chest.

A sudden kick to Copperhead's chest with his boot caused him to stumble backwards, giving Batman enough time to subdue him with a bat gas bomb. He quickly turned his attention to Diana who was just finishing off Killer Croc much to his relief.

Suddenly, Bizzaro landed on the concrete sidewalk with a crack like thunder, creating an enormous crater in the ground. He groaned as he fought to get up only to collapse back where he had landed. Superman swiftly flew in, scooping up all three villains.

"I'm taking them to Arkham," Clark announced. "I'll meet you back at the Watchtower."

"Thanks for the back up," Diana smiled up at him, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her shoulder as well as the deadly glare her husband was currently leveling at her.

"I guess we should go back and see if the others still need any help," she said, avoiding making eye contact with the Dark Knight.

"You're going back to the Watchtower," he snapped, his Batman voice at an all-time low, reflecting his barely controlled anger.

"I'm fine," she insisted, finally turning to meet his heated bat glare.

"No, you're not," he firmly shot back. "Killer Croc threw you through an eight foot thick brick wall and into a building."

"I've been put through worse," she shrugged. "Besides, you should have seen what I did to him before you two showed up."

Her flippant response was definitely not helping to diffuse the situation in the least. Batman tapped his communicator as he grabbed hold of Diana's arm. "Steele," he growled. "Two for transport directly to the infirmary."

"You got it, Batman," he responded.

"But I don't…" Diana had all but managed to get out before disappearing in a flash of light only to reappear in the Watchtower infirmary. "…need any medical attention."

Before she could respond any further, Batman had her pressed up against a nearby wall, his mouth on hers and devouring her like a dying man. She moaned into his heated almost violent kiss, melting into his hardened body that had her trapped against the wall, desire mingling with the adrenaline still pumping through her veins.

She wasn't quite sure where this was coming from, but she was pretty certain in that moment that she didn't really care as she shoved his cowl back and ran her fingers through his hair. She lifted her leg, rubbing herself against his Kevlar and earning a groan of her own from him.

Finally retreating for air, Bruce kept his body pushed up hard against hers, his nose brushing hers as his lips lingered teasingly close. "Don't you ever do that to me again," he growled so low, so intensely that it caused a hot shiver to lance straight through her. "I can't lose you."

His words were a cross between a ferocious growl and a strangled plea as he buried his gloved hands in her hair. His kiss was rough and desperate, demanding and yet reverential letting her know what she truly meant to him.

They were both breathing hard when he finally pulled back, his lips brushing softly over her face, nose, eyelids, and cheeks as if checking to make sure she was really alright before his forehead came to rest against hers.

His breath was like hot pulses against her face as he gazed into her eyes. "Are you alright?" he finally asked, his hands roaming over her in an attempt to further reassure himself that she was truly safe again.

"Bruce, I'm fine…really," she softly reassured him as she held his face in her hands. "My shoulder is a little sore, but that's it. I've got a hard head, remember?"

Her teasing remark meant to lighten his mood fell flat as he finally brushed her hair aside to exam her shoulder. His frown returned with a fierce vengeance as his worried gaze found what he had feared.

A deep gash marred her otherwise perfect skin, a piece of metal sticking out of the bone. "Diana…" he scowled as he released his hold on her before leading her to one of the exam tables. He gathered the supplies needed to treat her wound, setting them down on the table before removing his gloves. "Sit."

Diana reluctantly agreed, knowing that with the heated mood he was now in that it was best to just let him do what he felt he needed to rather than arguing and letting her pride get in the way. It would only lead to an even bigger argument and besides that she was too tired to fight with him right now.

After last night's activities with Bruce and then the mission in Metropolis as well as the fight with Killer Croc, she was feeling kind of off. She'd handled far worse missions then this after an all night work out with Bruce and still hadn't been this tired.

She watched as Bruce began cleaning the blood around the wound before pulling the metal shard out. His anger didn't seem to be diminishing any. She reached out to touch his jaw, gently caressing the defined angle that drove her wild. His jaw was full of such strength, hinting at the even greater strength that he possessed deep inside of him.

He paused to look into her eyes, finding solace there in those azure depths full of such love for him. He couldn't bear the thought of never being able to see her again, of never waking to those gorgeous eyes, her smile every morning.

"So are you upset with me for going after Killer Croc and the others which is my job or because I got hurt?"

He returned to the task at hand, turning his focus to dressing her wound and away from those eyes that knew him better than he knew himself. "Both," he rasped with that voice meant to inspire fear and chills that paralyzed. It had never worked on her.

"I was doing what I came to Man's World to do, Bruce," she reminded him. "I was trying to stop the bad guys and keep innocent people safe."

"I hate this job sometimes," he softly admitted, his voice thick with emotion. "Because one of these days, it's going to take you away from me and there won't be a damn thing that I can do to stop it. You're not indestructible, Diana."

"And neither are you," she pointed out. "I struggle with that fear every single night that you go out to patrol Gotham, terrified of the night that you don't come home to me or you come back so broken I can't fix you."

Bruce drew a deep shuddering breath before responding, his expression softening only slightly. "When you're communicator kept breaking up and I couldn't get to you…" his voice suddenly cracking. "…and then I thought…"

Diana swiftly leaned in, capturing his lips in a heated kiss. "I know," she whispered, kissing him again. "I'm fine…I promise."

He caressed her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. "You look tired," he frowned.

"I wonder who's fault that was," she seductively purred, her hands falling to either side of his neck, her soft lips following the sensual path that was so familiar to her and yet felt new every time.

Bruce snorted then moaned as her tongue snuck out to tease his lips. "All yours, Princess," he stated, his hands grasping hold of her waist. "You got me all worked up on patrol with no way to find relief except to call it a night and go directly home."

"Is it wrong to want to talk to my handsome…energetic…husband?" she innocently asked between slow nipping kisses along his lower lip.

Bruce groaned deeply with the way she was teasing him. He was never going to survive their little game of seduction that he'd inadvertently started, but he wasn't about to concede victory to her. Not by a long shot.

She smirked against his lips as his fingers pressed into her hips as if hanging onto her for dear life. "You are anything by innocent," he murmured, ready to turn the tables on her and make his move. "In fact, I think you like to pretend that you're innocent, to flirt and tease me until I'm so hot for you that I think that I'm going to go crazy."

His voice was low and rough with desire causing her to tense as he began moving his hands up and down her sides. He paused to caress the sides of her breasts until she shivered only for him to suddenly move further down and alter course.

He leaned in and began a slow tortuous assault on her throat as the fingers of his one hand slipped beneath the edge of her uniform just in front of her hip bone. He smiled to himself as she trembled in his arms, her breath hitching.

He always knew what turned her on, what built a slow steady smolder and what worked her into a heated frenzy that nearly tore her in two. His fingers slid around to cup her bottom from beneath her star-spangled material before roughly drawing her forward and directly into him.

She gasped sharply with the pressure, her head falling back with the feel of his hard Kevlar against her now throbbing center that demanded to be filled by him. He continued to grip her backside firmly, kneading her perfect flesh as he continued his assault on her neck before cutting a path to her ear.

"I want you so badly right now," he panted in her ear. "I want to feel you taking me inside of you…want you to feel me filling you so full. I want to take you over and over until you're hoarse from screaming my name."

"Bruce…" she moaned, her heart racing and her body thrumming with wild expectation with what he was doing to her.

Her fingers pressed into his arms as she tightly griped him, her hips beginning to move against his in a silent plea for relief that only he could bring her. She practically whimpered when his sexy voice assaulted her ear again.

"I love the feel of you beneath me when I take you…to watch you move on top of me," he continued to taunt and tease her with his voice as well as his hands and mouth. "I love watching you lose control, knowing that I'm the only one who can do that to you…me and only me, no one else."

His name was nothing more than begging gasps now, the little movements she was making with her hips against him driving him crazy now as well. He was beginning to wonder how Diana had been able to do this to him when it was taking every ounce of strength he had not to take her right here, their little teasing game be damned.

"Bruce…please…" she breathlessly beseeched him, her fingers digging into his arms almost painfully. "I need you…now…"

Bruce swallowed back a groan of wanton need, the sweet desperation in her voice heating his blood even further. He needed to leave right this minute before he completely lost it. "Got to go, Princess," he suddenly stated with an evil smirk before releasing her and stiffly racing for the door.

Diana's eyes shot open in shock to watch him disappear through the doorway, leaving her in such a heated state that she could barely remember her own name. Angry frustration quickly swelled like a thunderhead, mingling with the lust pounding wildly through her system.

"Batman!" she growled angrily. "Get back here!"

Bruce quickly made his way down the hall, desperate to get to his quarters before he exploded. His plan had more than backfired on him. He was so painfully aroused now he could barely put one black boot in front of the other as he silently prayed that he wouldn't run into anyone in the precarious state that he was currently in.

He smirked as he heard Diana yell his name from behind the closed door of the infirmary, knowing his plan had succeeded. He was so dead in more ways than just one, but it couldn't stop the excitement that was building uncontrollably inside of him at that moment.

Turning a corner, Batman ran into Flash and Hawkgirl returning from the mission much to his painful dismay. "Hey, Bats!" Flash cheerfully greeted him, his face morphing into a frown of concern. "Are you alright, buddy? You look like you're in a lot of pain."

"I'm fine," he hissed between clenched teeth before flying past them towards his quarters, entering the code and quickly disappearing inside without another word.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Wonder Woman stalked through the halls of the Watchtower more than a little frustrated and in more ways than just one. She was in dire need of a release that her husband had just denied her, her body practically trembling with the arousal still pounding through her veins.

Several very devious battle plans began to take shape in her warrior mind as she made her way to one of the numerous training rooms, overwhelming desperation climbing in her every step. Steam practically rolled off of her, part from anger with him, but mostly from how aroused he'd gotten her only to leave her panting and wanting and completely teetering on the edge.

Several forms of painful torture began to click one by one through her brain as she entered the training room, desperately needing to burn off some of this tension before she went absolutely crazy. Unfortunately, Green Lantern chose to come around the corner at that moment, slowing down her escape.

"Hey, Di," John called out to her. "Heard you ran into some trouble. Are you alright? "

"I'm fine," she replied through clenched teeth, her arms straight at her sides with her hands balled into fists. "Just have a husband in need of a beating."

John did his best to stifle the laughter that rose up, wondering exactly what Bruce had done to get himself into trouble this time. "I'll let you know if I see him," he told her as he watched her storm around the corner.

Reaching the training rooms, Diana immediately called up a program that she hadn't had to use in over a month, one that she only used in certain situations when she'd had to deal with her anger with a certain pointy-eared winged creature of the night.

All of the sudden, she found herself surrounded by over a dozen images of Batman all in various combat positions prepared to fight her. Staring at them now, she found that it only seemed to feed into her heated desire, making it more than difficult to move let alone think straight especially with that image of Batman holding their young son in his arms still in her head.

_Definitely time for a new plan,_ she thought to herself.

She quickly ended the program before changing course and heading straight to the weight room, feeling that a punching bag would be more effective at this time. She was more than relieved to find it deserted as she went directly to the reinforced bag waiting just for and began pummeling the poor bag with all of the pent up sexual tension that consumed her body whole.

Diana had thought about just hunting her husband down, throwing him to the ground and forcing him to take care of the burning need inside, the throbbing ache that had settled between her thighs, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he had made himself more than scarce, keeping her wanting in order to prolong her suffering in retaliation for what she had done to him the night before.

When the Batman didn't want to be found, it was beyond impossible to locate him.

She repeatedly slammed her fists into the bag, clenching her teeth as she rained hell down upon the substitute reason for her current state, ignoring the fierce throbbing in her shoulder. Revenge was slowly taking the place of the thrumming need deep within that had threatened her sanity.

She was panting heavily, sweat trickling down her back by the time that she'd worked out a very devious plan of attack that actually had her smiling to herself. Closing her eyes, she drew a deep breath, lifting her damp hair away from her neck as she blindly reached for a towel, an unexpected hand startling her.

Diana opened her eyes to find a smirking Batman standing in the shadows beside the towel rack holding a towel out for her. She immediately glared at him, her eyes flashing like twin blue flames of Amazonian fury but it was missing a small measure of the anger it would've held had he showed up a half hour earlier.

Bruce watched with darkening lust in his blue eyes as she patted her face and neck, his tongue slipping out momentarily to wet his suddenly dry lips. He'd returned to his quarters to bring himself some much needed relief before finally heading back out to find his Princess, needing to see her again.

He was still quite worried about her after that violent fight with Killer Croc and wanted to make sure that she was alright before returning to his duties. He had also thought she'd looked rather pale and tired in the infirmary when he'd been tending to her shoulder.

Now, though, she had a rosy flush to her skin from her assault on the punching bag that was now hardly hanging together by bits of thread, stuffing falling out through the tears in the thick leather. It was barely still attached to the ceiling and the floor where he'd had to reinforce it after her last assault on it.

There was also a fire blazing brightly in her blue eyes that reminded him that taking care of himself alone in his quarters a half an hour ago hadn't come anywhere close to extinguishing the fire that still burned inside for her. It was a very poor substitute to say the least.

"You're living life awfully dangerously suddenly showing up like this, aren't you?" she asked.

"I married an Amazon Princess, didn't I?" he smirked something devilish that both irked and aroused her at the same time. Damn this man standing so smugly before her. She couldn't decide whether to punch him in the face or jump him right here and now. "So…truce?"

Diana's gaze narrowed as she studied him, contemplating his offer for only a second before answering. "No way in Tartarus," she smiled something sinful as she threw the towel directly in his cowled face before turning on her heel to leave.

Bruce threw the towel into the laundry bin before following her out, amused and yet not surprised by her refusal to surrender. "Maybe I'm not the one with the death wish after all then if you want to continue this little competition," he said, falling into step beside her.

"If you thought what happened while you were out on patrol was torture, you haven't seen anything yet," she shot back over her shoulder.

He felt that familiar uncomfortable twitch in his groin again with her seductive teasing as he followed her to her quarters. This whole game had taken on a life all of its own that he had not anticipated and it was definitely exciting him in a way that he had never expected. This was pure torture of the best kind with the most breath-taking woman in the universe. How had he ever gotten so lucky was beyond him.

"You know I have my ways too, Princess," he huskily replied as they came to a stop outside of her quarters as she entered the security code, his eyes wandering over her perfect feminine curves. "I didn't gain the nickname 'billionaire playboy of Gotham' for nothing. Sooner or later, I'm going to have you on your hands and knees pleading for me to take you."

Diana bit the inside of her cheek to keep from attacking his cocky mouth right then and there as she turned to face him. She settled on taunting him instead, pretending to lean in to kiss him before suddenly diverting her attention to his cowled ear at the very last minute.

"It's one of my favorite positions," she whispered so seductively in his ear that he visibly trembled. "But I promise it will be you who will be the one begging. Remember, I'm the one who was blessed by Aphrodite and you haven't seen anything yet, Mr. Wayne."

She planted hot wet kisses slowly and sensually along his jaw before suddenly pulling away and turning her back to him. She heard a long low growl slide breathlessly past his parted lips as the door slid open.

Diana entered before swiftly spinning on her heel, her long raven hair fanning out around her in a glorious display of her beauty before coming to rest over one shoulder. Her hand immediately shot out to stop the Batman in his tracks as he tried to follow her inside. Her hand was pressed firmly against the Bat emblem on his muscular chest, a smirk on her lips and pure revenge dancing in her eyes.

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" she asked, cocking a curious eyebrow.

"With you," he replied, his voice cracking almost imperceptibly with the strain in his uniform pants that her playfulness had created.

Diana could feel how wildly his heart was beginning to pound beneath her hand, her smirk growing. She loved the affect that they had one another, how their bodies always reacted so intensely to the other no matter if it was by voice or touch.

"I'm going to take a nice, long hot shower…alone," she taunted him with a slight tilt of her head. "You are not invited."

"What?" he exclaimed, his voice coming out a little higher and a lot more desperate than he had intended. He quickly cleared his throat before speaking again much lower than before. "Why not?"

"Do you really have to ask, Mr. Great Detective?" she chuckled in wicked amusement before pulling her arm back. "See you at home, sweetheart."

With that, the door slid closed in his face, the sound of the door clicking locked echoing in his ears. He growled a lengthy string of profanities under his breath as he turned away, his hands clenched painfully in heated frustration. His lips were curled into a surly scowl that now matched his mood.

He knew he should have just finished what he had started with her in the infirmary, but somehow his stubborn pride had won out over the desire that had almost devoured him whole, the demand to win temporarily overshadowing his fierce need for his wife.

"Damn Amazon," he growled to himself, suddenly noticing Clark coming towards him, a perplexed look on the Kryptonian's face.

"What the matter with you?" Clark asked with a sudden frown as he drew near.

"Nothing," Batman bit out, drawing deep breaths in an effort to regain some measure of control once more knowing he wasn't going to get any relief from Diana any time soon.

"Where are you going? You look like you're in a lot of pain," Clark pressed, folding his arms against his chest as he watched Bruce stalk towards his quarters two doors down from his wife's. "Do you need to go the infirmary?"

"No, I'm going take a shower," he sneered though gritted teeth as he entered the code and quickly disappeared into this quarters.

Clark bit his bottom lip to keep the laughter that suddenly bubbled up inside of him from escaping, but it was nearly impossible. He had never before seen two people more meant for each other than Bruce and Diana.

They were both deeply passionate, intense people who were equally stubborn as well. It made for a very interesting marriage he was sure.

Staring at the door to his quarters that sat nestled between Bruce and Diana's quarters, Clark readily decided it would be much more prudent to go to the cafeteria for some supper before getting cleaned up, not to mention safer.

He didn't want to be anywhere around here if their spat escalated and he definitely didn't want to be here when they decided to make up. Sound proofing only helped so much.

XXX

Alfred entered the kitchen to finish preparations for dinner only to find Tim and Dick sitting at the table conspiring together over a pad of notepaper. He paused, cocking an eyebrow at them, wondering what they were up to and knowing it couldn't be anything good.

Tim and Dick looked up with sheepish grins, both doing their very best to look as innocent as humanly possible. "What?" they both asked in unison.

Alfred's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the two young men before him, knowing that whatever they were planning it was not going to turn out well. "What are you two up to?" he inquired.

Dick responded with "nothing" at the same time as Tim said, "making plans for our party Saturday night" to which he received a scowl and a very sharp kick under the table.

"Ouch!" Tim hollered as he leaned down to rub his shin, glaring at his brother. "Would you stop kicking me?"

"Stop talking so much and I'll stop kicking you," Dick hissed at him.

"There is no party for you two to be making plans for," Alfred reminded them with a disapproving frown on his lips.

"It's not a party, Alfred," Dick reassured him. "It's just a small gathering of some very close friends."

"Right," Alfred sighed heavily as he made his way to the oven to check on the leg of lamb. "You two do realize Master Bruce learned some of his stealthier detective skills from me, don't you?"

"Really?" Tim asked, his eyes growing wide with a new found admiration.

"You will find I'm full of many surprises, Master Timothy," Alfred told him as he tested the potatoes with a fork. "And don't think for one moment that Master Bruce didn't try to get things past me growing up. He never succeeded."

"Don't ever underestimate Alfred, Bro," Dick warned him with a shake of his head. "I would've thought that you would've learned that by now for as long as you've lived here."

"Hey, give me a break," Tim frowned as he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms against his chest. "I'm at school all day and patrolling at night. It's not like I have a lot of free time to get into trouble. Besides, it's also not like there's anyone to get into trouble with around here. Nicholas is too little yet."

"Not true, Master Timothy," Alfred interjected. "Didn't you and Miss Diana just get caught by Master Bruce having a race sliding down the banister the other day?"

Tim grinned with the hilarious reminder, laughter spilling from his lips. "Oh yah," he beamed with pride. "That was so fun until we got busted by Bruce. He was so not happy."

Dick busted up laughing at the image that took shape in his mind. "Boy, I wish I could've been there to see that," he said. "That's one of Bruce's biggest pet peeves. I used to get into trouble for it all the time."

"Only because he used to get in trouble with me all the time for doing it when he was younger," Alfred informed them, the forgotten memory bringing a smile to his elderly face.

"Did Bruce get after Diana too?" Dick asked.

Tim looked at him with a "do you really have to ask" look, but responded anyway. "Of course he did," he snickered. "He scolded her, telling her she was setting a bad example for me and Nicholas."

Dick's mouth dropped. "And what did Diana do?"

"She blew him off," Tim chuckled. "She told him to loosen up and have a little fun. She actually challenged him to a banister race, but he just shook his head and started to walk away. She called him a rooster. Bruce had to correct her and tell her it was chicken not rooster which of course irritated her then."

Dick held his stomach, unable to stop the laughter at the thought. "That sounds like our Princess."

"I bet she would've been a blast to grow up with on Themyscira," Tim said with a shake of his head.

"I believe she was probably quite the handful for poor Hippolyta, always getting into trouble at the palace and stirring up trouble of all sorts," Alfred said with tender affection in his voice for the Amazon warrior.

"I bet she was total hellion."

All three turned to see Bruce walk in with Nicholas in his arms and a disgruntled scowl on his face that spoke volumes about the mood he was in. A grin slowly spread across Dick's face as he watched his surrogate father go to the fridge to retrieve a sippy cup for Nicholas.

"Still in trouble, Bruce?" Dick piped up, deciding to poke the bear a little.

"I'm not in trouble," he firmly replied as he settled down at the table with his son in his arms. "Diana and I just have a friendly little…competition…going on right now. Nothing more and nothing you need to worry yourselves over."

Tim, Dick, and Alfred all stared at him for a long moment before Tim finally broke the silence. "You're losing big time, aren't you?"

"No, I am not losing," Bruce scoffed. "In fact, I scored a major victory today."

"Followed by a fatal blow," Dick muttered under his breath, his hand quickly moving to cover his mouth in a futile effort to hide his amusement.

"No, there was no fatal blow," he huffed. "Just a temporary setback is all. I'll gain the upper hand again."

"Tell us what kind of competition it is," Tim grinned. "Maybe we can help you."

"No way," Bruce adamantly stated as he bounced his son on his knee. "Besides, you two would just take any plans I have and use it against me. You guys always end up taking Diana's side over mine."

"I have a feeling you could best help Master Bruce by not asking anymore questions," Alfred interjected with a knowing smile directed at Bruce who suddenly found the placemat very interesting, his cheeks turning a rosy shade.

"Don't you have homework you should be doing?" Bruce asked, needing desperately to change the subject and get the attention off of him.

"I'm waiting for Diana to come home," Tim replied. "She said she'd help me with my paper I have to do."

"I'll help you with it," Bruce offered. "What's it about?"

"Ancient Greek philosophy," Tim informed him, reaching for his school book.

"Ask Diana," Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Good," Tim breathed an obvious sigh of relief. "She's way more fun to do homework with then you."

"That's because she has the patience of the goddess Penelope," Bruce frowned. "How do you think she had the endurance to pursue me all those years?"

Tim's expression shifted to one of thoughtful confusion. "How do you know so much about Greek mythology?"

"Because Bruce was secretly studying and learning every single thing there was to know about Greece and Amazons since the moment Diana became a founding member of the Justice League," Dick revealed with a grin.

"I was just preparing myself for the worse in case she ever went rogue and we had to find a way to contain her for some reason," Bruce informed them, holding Nicholas up and admiring how much he reminded him of Diana. He was absolutely perfect in every single way.

"Right," Dick nodded his head as he bit back a knowing smirk, not buying a single word of it.

"Besides, if her gods and goddesses were real, I wanted to be prepared for any interference on their part as well."

"And now those same gods and goddesses you were so paranoid about are the in-laws," Alfred remarked with amusement. "How ironic indeed isn't it, Sir?"

Dick chuckled with Alfred's observation. "And the fact that Diana is drop-dead gorgeous and captured your attention from the very moment your eyes met had absolutely nothing to do with your reasons for learning everything there was to know about her and her world."

"Not in the least," Bruce maintained with a stoic expression, but they all knew better.

"You're so full of it, Bruce," Dick laughed as he shook his head. "Just admit it. She had you hooked the moment you saw her."

Bruce shook his head. "I admit absolutely nothing," he shot back.

"It's alright, Dick," Diana suddenly said as she entered the kitchen, casting a sultry look at her handsome husband as she walked to the fridge to get a bottle of water. "I knew the truth even if he wouldn't admit it."

Bruce's eyes narrowed as he intently studied her, his mind already working overtime with her appearance in the kitchen. Was that a new dress that she was wearing to entice him and if it was, was she wearing anything beneath it?

He internally groaned with the very thought, realizing how she was getting to him already, keeping him off balanced. Damn, she was driving him crazy without even doing anything at all.

Diana smiled to herself with the way Bruce was practically undressing her with his blue eyes, admiring how she looked. It sent a shiver racing through her, reminding her of the unfinished business that still needed to be resolved between them.

"Dinner is ready," Alfred suddenly announced, breaking the tension between the two lovers. "Please get washed up, Masters Tim and Dick."

The boys got up and left, taking their notepad with them, Alfred following behind with the lamb on a platter leaving Bruce and Diana alone in the kitchen with their son who was completely preoccupied with his sippy cup.

Diana put the bottle of water to her mouth, her azure eyes locked with his. Her tongue slipped out to slowly trace the circular opening before wrapping her lips around the bottle. Her super hearing picked up on the definite hitch in Bruce's breathing, the darkening of his blue eyes as he watched her with utter fascination.

Before he could do or say anything, Alfred came in to retrieve Nicholas, taking the little boy to the highchair waiting for him in the dining room. Diana began to follow as she swallowed her water, a stray drop trickling down her chin as she set the bottle down on the counter.

She wiped the trickle of water off with her fingertip much to Bruce's enthrallment. He got to his feet and made his way to her, his gaze locked solely on her. In one smooth motion, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard with a desperate vengeance, the diverse emotions he'd experienced throughout the day suddenly catching up to him.

He had gone from believing he'd lost her to nearly making love to her in the infirmary only to have his plan blow up in his face when she denied him later by taking her shower without him, leaving him yearning for more.

"Do you surrender yet?" she finally asked as she broke the kiss.

"Never, Princess…this is war," he muttered before kissing her again.

The kiss continued to deepen, passion flaring and set to explode right there in the kitchen. He had never wanted someone so much or so desperately as he always wanted her, needed her. He wanted to take her upstairs right then and there, forgetting about dinner, Tim's homework assignment and patrol.

"Master Bruce, if you'd be so kind as to allow Miss Diana to have her tongue back, dinner is waiting for you both," Alfred announced.

His tone may have been reprimanding, but his eyes were sparkling with true amusement and happiness with witnessing just how in love his surrogate son was with the Amazonian Princess. He had come to love her as if she were truly his own daughter.

"We'll be right there, Alfred," Bruce frowned, keeping his wife in his arms.

Diana smirked at him, knowing she had gotten to him this afternoon more than he was letting on. She could feel it in the intensity of his kiss, the frantic desire behind his touch, the hardened need pressing against her. Little did he know his fire fully matched her own.

"How's your shoulder?" he softly asked, leaning in to kiss along her neck and collarbone towards her wounded shoulder.

"A little sore, but its fine," she reassured him.

"I think I better do a further examination just to make sure," he told her, his lips returning to her throat.

"Oh you think so?" she breathed, breaking free from his hold on her. Taking his hand in hers, she led him to the dining room. "I believe you had your chance in the infirmary, but you walked away from it."

Bruce swallowed back his groan with the reminder of what he could've had, his stupidity rearing its ugly head. It had only served to prove how stubborn his will truly was when it came to a battle. Only an idiot would exchange sex with his sexy wife to score a hollow victory in a game of seduction.

"I really should take a look at it," he told her in all seriousness, tightening his hold on her hand. "There could still be a piece of metal stuck in the bone."

"Alright, but only my shoulder, Bruce," she firmly said. "I have to help Tim with his homework assignment tonight. He has an important paper due that I promised to help him with."

"Fine," he growled, his hopes for more being dashed to bits as they entered the dining room.

He supposed that Tim's education was more important than his need for his wife, but only minutely. Besides, he'd get her later tonight after he returned from patrol, finally finishing what he'd started earlier that day in the infirmary. He just hoped he could wait that long.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, I know some haven't liked the whole competition between Bruce & Diana, but I swear there is a method to the madness and it will all come out eventually. There is much more coming with Nicholas as the story develops so please be patient. It will be worth it all! **

**Thanks for the continued support! You guys are so awesome! **

**Chapter 6**

Diana sat cross-legged on the floor of the study reading the instructions for Nicholas's play swing for what felt like the hundredth time, her frustration building. She'd made a little progress so far this afternoon, but not nearly as much as she would've liked.

Nicholas chattered softly to himself as he sat on his blanket with his toys spread out around him, chewing and slobbering all over his favorite rubber duck he had clutched in his little hands. He paused at times to watch with mild curiosity as his mother worked, but found his duck more interesting then whatever his mother was doing at that moment.

Diana frowned as she looked over the numerous parts and pieces still scattered on the floor that required attaching of some sort, her stubborn Amazon pride further solidifying her resolve to do this on her own.

She huffed softly to herself as she absentmindedly rolled the screwdriver back and forth in her hands, her eyebrows knitted together in deep concentration. She was relieved that Bruce had gone into the office today. That meant that he wasn't here to distract her or tease her about her lack of progress. It also meant that he wasn't here to get her all worked up again only to leave her hanging.

They still hadn't been able to do anything about the sexual tension he had created yesterday in the infirmary. After dinner last night, she'd spent the evening with Tim helping him with his paper while Bruce took care of putting Nicholas to bed before disappearing into the Batcave to prepare for patrol.

Gotham's criminals had been extra active last night, keeping more than busy and bringing him to bed well after four in the morning. He had crawled into bed exhausted, barely sleeping an hour before she'd needed to get up early for monitor duty. By the time Diana had gotten home from the Watchtower, it was lunch time and Bruce had already left for the office.

Now, she sat working on the swing while her mind continued to brainstorm ways to extract her revenge on him for the heated incident in the infirmary yesterday. It had been beyond evil to get her that excited only to suddenly walk away and leave her in dire need. No one toyed with her like that and got away with it.

She'd been about ready to crawl out of her skin by the time she'd finally made it to the weight room and the punching bag that had been waiting for her. Then, he'd had the sheer audacity to stand there with that damn smug smirk on his lips, handing her a towel as if nothing had just happened between them.

She had been a breath away from ripping his uniform right off his body, very nearly jumping him right then and there without a single care about who could've walked in on them. Fortunately, she'd managed some measure of self-control and had walked away.

The only real satisfaction she'd received from the whole incident was how much Bruce had suffered as well despite his denial otherwise. She could tell by the rigid way that he had walked out of the infirmary that his little plan had backfired on him.

Feeling something on her leg, Diana was suddenly pulled from the thoughts. She turned to find Nicholas had crawled over to her, his small hand patting her thigh as he jabbered something to her, drool running down his chin. Her heart instantly froze in shock before fluttering wildly, swelling with more pride than she had ever thought possible.

"Alfred!" Diana cried in excitement. "Alfred, Nicholas did it!"

Getting up on her feet, Diana backed up, clapping her hands before her in order to entice her son. "Come here, Nicholas," she cooed to him. "Come to Mama."

Nicholas grinned, slobbering as he grinned at his mother for a moment before tentatively creeping towards her on his hands and knees. His mother's cry of excitement seemed to encourage him, giving him the motivation to keep moving as Diana kept moving backwards, coaxing him to continue crawling towards her.

"Alfred!" Diana called again. "Nicholas is doing it!"

"That is wonderful, Miss Diana," Alfred grinned as he entered the study to find Nicholas on all fours.

"Crawl to Alfred, Nicholas," Diana encouraged him, turning to look over her shoulder to find a surprise visitor that she definitely hadn't expected coming into the study. "Mother! What are you doing here?"

"Can't I come to visit my daughter and grandson?" Hippolyta asked with a bemused smile as she watched Diana kneel down and scoop up Nicholas into her arms.

"Of course you can," Diana smiled as she leaned in to embrace her, Nicholas caught between the two women. "It's just that I didn't know you were coming. Why didn't you let me know you were going to be in Gotham?"

"I had to make an appearance at the Themyscirian Embassy and I thought I'd stop by to see you and Nicholas," Hippolyta replied. "What happened with Nicholas that has you so excited?"

"Nicholas is crawling," she told her, her face beaming with motherly pride.

"He's crawling already?" the Queen frowned in disappointment, sadly shaking her head. "I've missed so much since my last visit. He's already getting so big."

"If you two ladies would like to follow me to the back patio, I'll bring you both some iced tea," Alfred offered, beginning to lead the way.

"That would be lovely," Diana smiled. "Thank you, Alfred."

Hippolyta reached over and took her grandson into her arms, her slender hand coming to rest against his cheek. "My…what a handsome little boy you are, Nicholas," she fussed over him, kissing him on the forehead as Nicholas began to play with a lock of his grandmother's golden hair. "He looks so much like you, Diana. He's absolutely beautiful in every way."

"I think he looks just like Bruce, but Bruce says all he can see is me in him," the Princess sighed as they settled into a couple of lounge chairs.

"Has he started to show any gifts yet?" Hippolyta asked, running her fingers through his short black hair.

"Not yet," Diana shook her head. "J'onn ran some tests yesterday, but we're still waiting for the results to come back."

"I'm sure he'll be perfect no matter what you find out," the Queen reassured her daughter.

"I know he will because he's ours," Diana agreed. "How long can you stay?"

"I'm afraid I can't stay for very long," Hippolyta admitted as she held her grandson in her lap, Nicholas completely enthralled with his grandmother's long blond hair.

She smiled at the little boy who reminded her so much of her Diana when she was little. It made her heart warm with pride at all that her daughter had been able to accomplish since coming to Man's World.

"Alright, mother," Diana said with a sudden frown, her concern growing. "What brings you here? Is something wrong? Are you alright?"

"I'm more than fine, my little sun and stars," Hippolyta replied. "I was visited the night before last by Aphrodite while I was praying in her temple. She told me that you were pregnant. I had to come and see you."

Diana sat there in stunned silence, her brain working to process the unexpected news. "I'm pregnant?" she finally whispered, tears filling her eyes. "I…I had no idea."

"I expect not," Hippolyta chuckled softly at her daughter's stunned response. "You're not quite two months along so you might not know that you're going to be having a little girl yet."

"A girl?" Diana murmured as the tears finally broke free and began trickling down her cheeks.

She suddenly felt ill to the core as memories of her fight yesterday with Killer Croc flashed through her mind causing her smile to swiftly fall away. It felt as though she had suddenly been thrown through that bank wall all over again, her back slamming hard into that building, her body shuddering from each slam of Croc's fists.

She could've lost their baby yesterday, lost a part of her and Bruce.

"Diana, what is it?" Hippolyta asked as she noticed the sudden horror that flashed through her daughter's face causing her to lean forward to touch Diana's arm.

"I was just remembering the terrible battle I had fought yesterday on a mission we were on," she replied, sickened by the thought as her hand fell to her abdomen. "I could've lost our baby."

"Aphrodite said that your daughter would be blessed by her so you have nothing to fear, my sun and stars," she informed her daughter.

Tears continued to slip down her cheeks as she struggled with the knowledge that she could've lost their little girl yesterday. The thought cut deep like a knife, nearly stealing her breath as she leaned into her mother's comforting embrace.

XXX

Bruce entered the house in a foul mood, dropping his briefcase with a thud by the door and wanting nothing more than to just forget the day he'd had. It had been a long night patrolling Gotham, coming home to crawl into bed with his wife only for her to leave not long after he'd finally curled up next to her.

Then, the board meeting at Wayne Enterprise had been twice as long as was necessary that had led to an impromptu meeting with the Research and Development department about some imperative changes that he was most unhappy about.

An unexpected call from Clark this afternoon informing him of an accident on the Watchtower that included Flash, Shayera, a two liter bottle of soda, and one of the computer monitors had only added to his mounting stress.

On top of that, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Diana all day, wondering when she would strike again. He knew that revenge was coming; he just didn't know when and the suspense was beginning to kill him in more ways than one. She had him completely on edge and constantly guessing. It was unnerving to say the least and yet wildly exhilarating.

He had hoped for some alone time this morning after he'd gotten a few hours of sleep, but he had forgotten that Diana had an early morning monitor duty shift which had only added to his building frustration.

"Master Bruce, welcome home," Alfred greeted him as he entered the foyer. "Long day I gather?"

"You have no idea," he grumpily replied, loosening his tie as he made his way to the kitchen. "Where's Diana?"

Just as he entered the kitchen, Bruce looked out the sliding glass door to notice that they had unexpected company. "Hippolyta," he grumbled under his breath, his jaw automatically tightening as he ground his teeth.

Although on much better terms than when she had made her first impromptu visit to Wayne Manor in order to drag Diana back to Themyscira with her, he still wasn't completely comfortable with Hippolyta's visits. He was always on edge when she showed up; waiting for the moment that she would try to take his wife away from him again.

His expression swiftly shifted from one of annoyance to concern as he watched Diana brush tears from her cheeks, fear clouding her expression. Was something wrong? Was she alright?

Without a second thought, Bruce quickly made his way to the back patio, needing to see her. "Diana," he said as he entered, concern etched on his handsome face. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," she smiled brightly at him, about to burst with the news that they were going to have a baby girl but she wanted to wait to tell him later when they were alone. "Mother came by to see Nicholas."

"Hippolyta," he greeted her, his smile forced. He was still concerned about why his wife had been crying and wasn't exactly in the mood for a confrontation with his mother-in-law at this particular moment.

"Bruce," the Queen of the Amazons smiled in return as she regally stood to her feet. "Always a pleasure to see you. Nicholas is absolutely perfect. I can't believe how fast he's growing up."

"Yes, he is," he agreed taking his son in his arms as Hippolyta handed Nicholas over to him. "Will you be joining us for dinner?"

"No, I'm afraid I can't stay," she shook her head with a heavy sigh of regret. "Hopefully, next time I can stay longer, but I need to return to Themyscira yet tonight. Please take good care of Diana and Nicholas."

"Always," he promised, knowing in his heart there was never truly a question about it.

He watched as Diana walked with Hippolyta through the house to the front door, wondering what could've brought his mother-in-law for such a short visit. It made his chest tighten with worry about what was really going on. Were the gods up to no good, planning to interfere in their lives?

They had managed to stay fairly quiet and out of their lives so far, but he was not holding his breath especially when it came to Greek gods and their favorite Champion.

Following them to the front door, Bruce watched as mother and daughter embraced, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, his detective skills working overtime to discover what was really going on here. Something was definitely changed.

"Bruce, a word of warning," Hippolyta paused at the door, turning her attention to her son-in-law with a rare mischievous smile. "If Nicholas is anything like Diana was growing up, you are in for way more than you bargained for. You have my sympathy."

"Mother…" Diana rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Bruce broke into a wide grin that reached his blue eyes this time, amusement as well as love dancing in his gaze as he glanced at his wife. "I've already seen it in my son," he grinned. "And Diana's still quite mischeivious a good portion of the time."

"Oh, I never said that she ever out grew it," the Queen grinned in response as she closed the door behind her before Diana could argue any further.

"I am not mischeivious," Diana shot back to Bruce as she closed the distance between her and her husband.

"You're the devil in disguise of a gorgeous Amazon warrior, Princess," he teased as he leaned in and kissed her, the feel of a little hand tugging hard on his tie pulling him away from her as well a very unpleasant smell that he suddenly noticed.

"Wow!" he chuckled as he studied his son. "Someone is definitely in need of a diaper change."

"That would be your turn," Diana reminded him. "I had this morning's blow out diaper."

"Haven't you tortured me enough today?" he asked with a shake of his head.

"How can that be?" she frowned. "I haven't seen you until now."

"You had me on edge all day," he admitted as he began to make his way towards the stairs.

"Really?" she grinned, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "And why would that be, Mr. Wayne?"

Bruce leaned in and brushed his nose against hers; allowing his lips to linger close. "Just wondering if…or when…you might strike," he huskily replied. "You know…it's very, very sexy."

"Hmmm…" she thoughtfully hummed, the corners of her lips curled in amusement as she batted her eyelashes so innocently at him. "And here to think I was wasting my afternoon on that stupid baby swing…or was I?"

"You are such a tease, Princess," he rasped in that low baritone voice that sent chills up her spine as he caressed the back of his son's head. "He feels a little warm. Is he coming down with something?"

Diana shook her head, placing her hand against Nicholas's cheek. "No, he's starting to teeth again," she informed him. "That's why he's drooling and sticking everything in his mouth."

Bruce looked down at his tie wet with drool, the end of it stuff into Nicholas's mouth. "Well, there goes that tie," he frowned.

"I'm sure Alfred can wash it," Diana rolled her eyes.

"It's a very expensive silk tie, Princess," he chided her. "You can't just toss it into the washing machine."

"Mama…mama…" Nicholas jabbered as he continued to slobber all over the expensive silk material.

Bruce looked at his son in surprise. "Did he just say 'Mama'?"

She nodded her head with growing excitement. "Yes, he said it when I came home for lunch this afternoon," she told him. "He also crawled over to me while I was working on the swing."

"He's crawling?" Bruce asked, a proud father's smile forming on his lips that swiftly morphed into a patent Bruce Wayne businesslike frown, knitted eyebrows and all. "We're going to have to baby-proof the house. We'll need baby gates, outlet covers, door latches…"

"Bruce…"

"…locks, doorknob covers, electrical cord protectors…"

Diana shook her head in amusement at his over-protectiveness. "Bruce," she called his name again. "We have plenty of time. We can go get supplies tomorrow."

"Maybe we should go tonight after dinner," he absentmindedly replied as he took Nicholas upstairs to change his diaper.

"I'm sure Nicholas will be completely safe between now and tomorrow," she said as she followed him to the nursery. "He's not going to be walking by tonight anyway."

"I'm going to have to completely overhaul the entire security system on the Manor," he thoughtfully muttered to himself as if not even hearing her, his gaze growing distant as his mind went to work with the numerous plans racing through it. "I'll need to install more sensors and security cameras so we know where Nicholas is at all times in case he somehow gets away from us. I'll need to get skid-proof rugs for the floors and we'll need more alarms as well as…"

"Bruce!" Diana exclaimed, stopping to grab hold of him in order to get his attention as she attempted to suppress a giggle. "He's going to be just fine. Babies learn to crawl and walk every day around the world. This is not something new."

"But it's new for us…new for Nicholas," he frowned at her for not obviously sharing in his paranoia. "Besides, we still don't know what gifts he'll be blessed with yet. He could be walking tomorrow and flying by next week. For all we know, he could be lifting the refrigerator over his head by the time he's two years old."

Diana bit her bottom lip as her hand fell to Bruce's cheek in tender endearment. "I love you so much…you know that?" she smiled at him before pressing her lips to his in a heated kiss that quickly focused him.

"I love you too, Princess," he softly replied, his face suddenly growing serious as he remembered what he had found when he had come home. "Why were you crying when I came in?"

Diana looked away somewhat sheepishly, not wanting to give away the surprise just yet. She wanted to make it something special when she finally told him. "I was just excited about Nicholas crawling and saying my name."

Bruce studied her for a long moment, knowing she was holding something more back. "Nothing more?" he pressed. "Your gods aren't planning to ambush us? The goddesses aren't planning to kidnap Nicholas and try to turn him into a girl?"

She chuckled softly with his suspicions as she kissed him again in an attempt to reassure him, trying to buy a little time to divert his attention away from her and onto something else. She knew that she could never truly lie to him.

"No, nothing like that," she promised him.

His jaw clenched almost imperceptibly, his blue eyes narrowing in suspicion as he stared at her. He decided to let it go for now, but he knew in his gut that there was something more going on that she wasn't telling him. He would get to the bottom of it one way or another just like he was going to win this competition that had developed between them.

XXX

Bruce made his way down into the Batcave to begin preparations for patrol, his mind completely preoccupied with whatever Hippolyta had come to talk to Diana about. Something was definitely up and he wanted to know what it was.

He had hoped that maybe Alfred had overheard something of their conversation that could give him some sort of clue as to what could possibly be going on, but Alfred had told him that he hadn't heard anything that could help make sense of the unexpected visit. Bruce wasn't exactly sure he believed him, though.

His lips pressed together into a tight thin frown, his forehead creasing with worry. Whatever Hippolyta had said to her had upset her and he didn't like it one bit. Diana was his world and he did not like the idea of anyone hurting or upsetting her.

Besides, if there was a potential problem, he needed to know about it, wanted to be prepared. He wanted her to talk to him about everything and the fact that she was holding something back from him was beginning to bother him.

He knew Diana was an Amazon with abilities that rivaled Clark's, but he still felt an intense deep-seated need to protect her and he always would. She may be immortal, but she wasn't indestructible.

Plopping down in his chair before the computer with a huff, Bruce began typing away in annoyance, checking up on a few things before beginning his pre-patrol preparations. His worry over whatever Diana wasn't telling him was swiftly shoved aside as he began to immerse himself in his night time activities.

He suddenly paused in the middle of typing as his senses finally caught up with his beleaguered brain, causing him to sit up a little straighter in his chair. His head snapped to attention as he caught a whiff of Diana's scent lingering in the air.

She had been down here…recently. And he had somehow missed it when he had first entered the cave, his mind too consumed with other things.

Bruce quickly finished what he needed to do on the computer before getting up to look around his work area, wondering what she had been up to down here. Searching everything and finding nothing unusual around his desk, he proceeded to the changing area, his curiosity more than piqued as he tried to figure out what his wife's next move was going to be.

He quickly changed into his uniform without incident or finding anything out of the ordinary. He was beginning to think that he was just imagining that he had detected her scent or that she had snuck down here just to make him think that she had done something.

He growled to himself as he grabbed his cowl and gauntlets, stalking away from his locker. She was driving him crazy in the best way. There was definitely no denying the way his heart was beating a little faster, his blood pumping a little harder in excited anticipation of what he might find or when she would strike again.

What she had done to him when he had been out on patrol had been delicious torture despite the fact that he thought he was going to completely lose it. He couldn't begin to imagine what she would come up with next, how she was going to tease his desire for her to new levels.

Bruce made his way to where he kept their supplies, needing to make sure he had everything that he needed for patrol. He paused to scan the area, carefully searching for any signs Diana had been in this part of the cave, but finding nothing here either.

He restocked his Batarangs and gas pellets, remembering from last night's patrol that he hadn't used much of anything else. Wrapping his utility belt around his waist, he fastened it securely before heading towards the Batmobile.

He found that he was actually a little disappointed that Diana hadn't appeared to have done anything at all besides teasing and tormenting him by making him think that she had. Besides her intoxicating scent, he hadn't been able to find any other sign of her anywhere down here in the cave.

Releasing a disheartened breath, he climbed into the Batmobile, strapping himself in before heading out. She was definitely up to something. He just wasn't sure what.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Batman frowned as he knelt at the crime scene before him; his cowled eyes narrowed into thin white slits as he processed the information and clues the killer had left behind. He had been here for the last hour gathering information and securing the scene, his mind working overtime to sort through it all.

This was all too familiar for his liking causing his suspicions to ratchet up even higher than normal even for him. He absentmindedly rubbed his jaw with a gauntleted finger as his thoughts swept him back in time to a murder he'd dealt with last week.

The similarities were too great to ignore. The positioning of the body was identical to the last one, both found in decaying warehouses, both men in their late twenties. He'd also stumbled upon both of them by accident, but now he wasn't so certain anymore.

His gut instantly tightened as thoughts of another serial killer descending on Gotham suddenly made him feel very…tired.

It felt at times for all the good that he tried to do there was always more wickedness that appeared in its wake in an attempt to thwart whatever difference he was trying so hard to make in his city that he loved. It was infuriating as hell.

Diana had asked numerous times after they had started dating to help him out on patrol, but he had shot her down at every turn. He greatly feared the dark grittiness of Gotham seeping into her bones and drowning out her radiant light, suffocating the innocence and purity of heart that she possessed. He'd protect her from that with his last breath if need be.

Since Nicholas's birth, however, she'd brought it up less often, knowing their son needed his mother at home. Lately, though, it had started to come up again now that Nicholas was getting a little older and sleeping more through the night.

Now, as he finally pushed himself back up to his feet, he was beginning to think that maybe Diana could help him make a bigger dent in the iniquity that skulked through Gotham's crime-ridden streets, would be able to withstand the darkness that tried to wrap itself around his soul in an attempt to snuff it out.

Diana was the strongest woman he'd ever met – not just physically but in so many other ways as well, her strength and resolve never ceasing to amaze and captivate him. Maybe she could withstand the horrors of Gotham after all.

Studying the body before him, Batman suddenly noticed something he hadn't when he'd first examined the victim. He reached into a compartment on his utility belt to pull out his tweezers and another evidence bag. What he pulled out instead left him completely tongue-tied and breathless as he held up a red lacy thong.

A low growl of heated frustration emanated from his throat as he studied the skimpy material that would cover no more skin than what a band aid could. He suddenly began to imagine Diana sauntering towards him while wearing it, her raven locks flowing down her back and over her shoulders like an ebony waterfall…

He pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly finding himself so aroused that he could barely move let alone think straight. Warning signals began firing in his brain telling him to put the tiny scrap of red material away before he completely lost it. His uniform was already growing incredibly tight, almost to the point of being painful.

Batman quickly tapped his ear piece, connecting to his wife's as he leaned closer to study the body. "You are so going to get it when I get home," he hissed as he stuffed the underwear back into the compartment before finding what he had initially been looking for.

He didn't care if Diana was asleep or not, knowing that she probably wasn't. She was more than likely waiting in bed for his reaction. And even if she was truly asleep, she more than deserved to be woken up, to know that she would eventually be paying for her deviousness.

"Who is this?"

The sound of her sweet innocent voice over his communicator sent a shiver of desire slicing through him, knowing she was anything but when it came to being alone with him. "You know damn well," he rasped as he crouched nearer to the dead body, trying his best to keep the smirk from his voice as well as his face.

"Hmmm…I know several men so you'll have to be a little more specific."

He could practically feel the corners of her beautiful lips curling with her facetiousness. It was driving him absolutely wild. "You better not know any other man but me," he growled with a possessive ferocity that only hinted at the true depths that his jealousy could plunge.

The soft hint of a gasp on the other end of the line brought a measure of satisfaction to the Dark Knight. "Oh, yes," she purred with a lovable naiveté. "I think I know who this is now."

Bruce paused to inhale deeply, doing his best to keep himself in complete control. Diana was heating his blood to new levels again and she wasn't even anywhere near him. "I believe I found something that belongs to you," he evenly told her.

"Oh really?" she coyly replied, acting as if she weren't the least bit interested. "I wonder what that could possibly be. Maybe you could bring it to me sometime."

"I plan on giving it to you tonight just as soon as I get home," he told her, the double entendre intended, the heat in his voice revealing how greatly she affected him.

There was a definite pause and a possible muffled moan somewhere in there before she finally responded, her voice proving she'd recovered from whatever reaction his words had caused her. "Actually, I was just about to go to sleep so maybe some other time?"

"I don't think so," he nearly snarled at her, biting back the 'Princess' he so badly wanted to add. "I will be coming for you tonight."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Both," he snapped in that voice that was deep and rough and powerfully demanding.

"Not until you've found all three pieces."

"Three?"

"I don't believe you've found the garter belt yet."

"Garter belt?" Bruce's head snapped up from the crime scene before him, his minding completely racing much like his heart rate was now.

What compartment could she have hidden that in?

He fought against the overwhelming urge to search every single inch of his utility belt as well as the Batmobile, but knew that he needed to finish up with this first before he could move on to other more enjoyable things with his wife.

"Yes…garter belt," she repeated. "I believe you know what that is…don't you, Batman?"

Diana let the words roll off of her tongue, drawing them out and allowing them to hang so sensually in the air between them. She heard a deep groan rumble through her earpiece, telling her that she had just won herself another victory in the war of seduction against her husband.

"Yes, I know what a garter belt is," he ground out through clenched teeth. "You do know that you're really playing with fire now, right?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're referring to," she sweetly replied. She could practically feel his desperation and frustration through the communicator.

"I will be getting revenge," he warned her. "You won't know where, you won't know when, but it will be coming."

"By the way, you might come across one or two more…items," she mysteriously informed him.

His mind continued to race, trying to think of what else she could have done or could have added to the erotic item that she had already left for him. It was beginning to take him to places he shouldn't or couldn't go right now no matter how desperate he was becoming at the moment.

"You are such a damn minx," his gravelly voice finally came through. "If you thought what happened in the infirmary was bad just wait. It's about to get much worse."

His threat was followed by complete silence, taking him by surprise. His Princess always had a comeback of some sort, some biting retort to get under his skin. It went against her Amazonian pride to not get in a stinging response.

"I'm sorry did you say something? I was busy adjusting my red stockings," she finally informed him with a little lilting laugh at the end that was so damn cute he didn't even realize how tightly he was gripping the tweezers in his hands until the tweezers suddenly snapped in two.

He had just figured out where the garter belt was waiting for him.

The next response she received from her husband was a strangled choking sound, something akin to the sound of someone dying. "Are you trying to kill me?" he growled.

"Do you concede?"

"Hell no," he adamantly declared. "You already think I started all of this so I'm going to make damn sure that I'm the one who finishes it."

"We'll just see about that, Dark Knight," she seductively teased. "Just remember I've been blessed by the gods…you haven't. See you later."

The line suddenly went dead, leaving him hanging and wanting and without getting the last word in. "More like blessed by Hades himself," he cursed under his breath as he finished up his search.

XXX

Bruce drew near the Manor, Diana's red bra that he'd found in the glove compartment of the Batmobile in one hand, the other on the steering wheel while his mind still worked through the crime scene he'd come across. He absentmindedly caressed the lacy material between his fingers, his jaw clenched in thought as he stared straight ahead at the road that stretched out before him.

He definitely hated the thought of someone on a killing spree in his city, but he knew that he needed to confirm that notion before leaping to conclusions. The similarities between the two murders were obvious and yet he knew he'd have to do some investigating before he shared his concerns with Commissioner Gordon.

He pulled the Batmobile to a stop inside the cave on the platform, his lips still twisted into a contemplative scowl as he turned the car off. His attention suddenly fell on the bra he was holding in his hand, reminding him of the fierce tension and arousal that his wife's act of devious revenge had created in him.

As anxious as he was to see his wife, he had too much work to do right now especially with this new case that had developed. He needed to get this cleared up before he took Diana away for their long weekend together. He wanted their first anniversary to be absolutely perfect in every way without any interruptions.

Quickly exiting the car, Bruce stopped at his work station to drop off the evidence bags as well as the lingerie before going into the back to shower and change. Stepping into the shower, he allowed the hot water to sluice over his body, washing away the dirt and grime of his city, wondering who could be behind these murders.

Hopefully the evidence he'd been able to gather would be able to provide them some much needed information. He also needed to talk to Oracle about finding any possible connection between the two victims, anything that could possibly put the two of them together.

He couldn't help but wonder which one of his numerous nemeses could be behind these murders, speculating who could possibly be next. If whoever was behind these murders stayed on schedule, the next murder should come on Monday. Of course when it came to the criminal mind, it wasn't always so simple to predict what they would do next.

Shutting off the water, Bruce dried off before slipping into workout shorts and a black t-shirt. He made his way to his workstation, anxious to see what clues the evidence he'd gathered would provide him.

The sudden roar of a Batcycle told him that Robin had safely returned home. Bruce quickly grabbed Diana's red bra and panties that he'd left on his desk, sticking them into a spare evidence bag in order to give them back to his wife later…in private.

He knew that he had promised to deliver them to her tonight, but he couldn't ignore this second murder. Besides, he'd soon have three straight days alone with her. He just needed to get through this first.

"Hey, Bats," Tim greeted him as he approached. "Whatcha working on?"

"A murder," he told him as he discreetly pushed the evidence bag with Diana's belongings further away from his surrogate son. That was definitely one explanation he wanted to avoid at all cost.

"Are you alright?" Robin asked.

"I'm fine," he coolly stated, turning his attention back to his computer screen.

"Are you sure?" Robin frowned. "You seem distracted. Did something happen tonight?"

"You could say that," he muttered more to himself than his partner. "It's nothing. I just want to figure out who's behind these murders before this weekend away with Diana."

Robin chuckled, his hand moving to cover his mouth causing Batman to look up at him. "What?" Bruce snapped.

"Nothing," Tim grinned at him before turning his back and mumbling under his breath. "You are so whipped."

Batman straightened up in his chair, turning and leveling his young charge with a heated bat glare. "I am not whipped," he ground out. "Nightwing told you that, didn't he?"

"Maybe," Robin shrugged. "I just happen to agree."

"I am not whipped," he firmly repeated, the words spat out like acid.

Robin moved closer to him again, holding his gloved hands up in front of him in defense. "Hey, I didn't say it was a bad thing," he told him. "I'm happy for you…we all are. None of us have ever seen you so relaxed or happy. Diana's the best thing that could've ever happened to you."

Bruce's shoulders relaxed a little, his scowl softening slightly. "Yes…she is," he agreed.

"I actually forget sometimes that she's not my real mother," Tim admitted somewhat embarrassed the moment it left his lips, but he pressed on. "I almost called her mom the other day."

Tim didn't know what he was thinking. They were in the Batcave discussing a murder and he was suddenly sharing his feelings. He quickly turned away from the Caped Crusader, making his way towards the showers. He felt rather stupid for admitting something like that when he felt a sudden hand on his shoulder.

Robin turned around to find Bruce standing right next to him, leaving him to wonder how in the world he had closed the distance between them so quickly without even making a single sound. He had been trained by Bruce and yet it still never ceased to startle him.

"You should tell her," Bruce said, giving his surrogate son's shoulder a squeeze before releasing it. "I know she feels the same about you too, Tim. It would mean a lot to Diana if you told her."

He watched as a wide grin spread across his young sidekick's face. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Bruce reassured him before turning back towards his workstation. "She considers you her son."

"I have to admit I was worried that after bat junior was born that you guys would forget about me," he confessed as he followed him back to his workstation.

He watched as Bruce began emptying the contents of some of the evidence bags out onto the table, keeping one particular bag pushed far away from the others making Tim wonder what was so special about that one.

"Why would we do that?" Bruce frowned as he warily began pulling out supplies from drawers to test the evidence that he'd gathered, suddenly very afraid of what else he might find hidden throughout the Batcave by his mischievous wife.

Robin paused in thought, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know," he thoughtfully responded. "I guess I just thought that once you and Diana had an actual kid of your own together you'd give him all of your attention."

"Sorry, not going to happen," Bruce told him as he held up a small scrap of material that he'd procured from the crime scene. "I'm afraid you're stuck with this family whether you like it or not."

Tim grinned from ear to ear with Bruce's words despite still being dressed in his Robin suit. He was sure it created quite the picture of contrast. "I guess if I have no choice then."

"You don't," Batman firmly stated. "Now, go get cleaned up. I want to get this started so we can go to bed."

"So whipped," Robin shook his head with a laugh.

"Someday you're going to meet a girl who is going to rock your whole world and then you'll truly understand."

"Maybe I've already met someone," Tim cryptically said, crossing his arms against his chest.

Batman paused in his inspection of the evidence to look up at his partner. "You have? Do I know her?"

"Maybe," Robin replied, refusing to give out too much information.

Bruce groaned to himself with the thought of Tim dating already. Wasn't it just yesterday that he had come to live with him? "I guess we're going to have to have 'the talk', aren't we?" he sighed heavily.

"Wait…what?" Robin's head snapped up, his eyes widening in horror. "No way! Alfred already beat you to it about three years ago and whatever he may have missed Dick filled me in."

Bruce groaned again much deeper and longer this time at the thought of Dick telling Tim anything when it came to being with a girl. He was going to have to talk to Dick to find out exactly what he had told the boy so he could undo whatever damage his other surrogate son may have done.

"I think you and I should still have a talk," he insisted as he used a pair of tweezers to hold the scrap of material to the light.

It was Tim's turn to groan. "You do realize they covered all of this in school, right?"

"Just think of it as a father-son bonding moment," Bruce smirked, laughing to himself as he watched Tim hang his head in reluctant acceptance of his perceived fate. "Hey, you were worried you wouldn't be a part of the family anymore so welcome to it, son."

XXX

Silently making his way to his bedroom, Bruce paused outside of Nicholas's room, the soft melodic strains of humming floating into the hallway tickling his ears. He peeked his head through the door that had been cracked open to find Diana sitting in the rocking chair with Nicholas in her arms.

He was sniffling and whimpering softly, his eyelids growing heavier by the moment. His little fingers were wrapped around a teething ring he had stuffed into his mouth, his face wet with tears. He absolutely hated seeing his son in pain no matter what the cause was. It was gut-wrenching.

He watched as Diana absentmindedly leaned down to kiss her son's forehead, a book in her other hand. The sight of her caring for their son warmed his heart with the intense love that he felt for the both of them. It was also incredibly sexy in an unexpected way.

Diana suddenly looked up, noticing her husband standing quietly in the doorway studying her. A loving smile quickly spread across her face at the sight of him, her blue eyes brightening.

"Good morning," she softly greeted him. "Long night in Gotham?"

Bruce nodded his head as he drew near, pausing to lean over and kiss her before sitting down on the floor at her feet. "Sorry, I didn't make it to bed," he replied, keeping his voice low so as not to wake his son who was nearly asleep now. "I was looking forward to finding that garter belt."

"Me too," she agreed. "Maybe next time."

"No 'maybe' about it," he told her. "There will be a next time, Princess."

"Oh you think so do you?" she smiled wickedly at him.

"I know you better than I know myself, Princess," he smiled proudly in return. "There will be a next time."

"That's a scary thought," she visibly grimaced.

"Like I knew you wanted me the moment that you saw me," he teased.

"Oh, Hera!" she chuckled softly, covering her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle her laughter.

"What?" he asked. "I can tell when you're undressing me with your eyes. You get a certain look on your face and your eyes get a deeper shade of blue."

"I think it was definitely the other way around if I remember correctly."

"No, that was Wally," he growled with the reminder of how the speedster had been practically drooling all over the Amazon Princess the second she arrived. "I barely noticed you when you arrived. I was too preoccupied with the mission for anything else."

Diana pursed her lips together in complete disagreement. "Oh and that was why you couldn't stop staring at me. You think you're so clever with that cowl on and those special lenses of yours, but I can always tell when you're watching me."

"And here I thought I was being so stealthy," he frowned in real disappointment. "At least no one else knew it."

"Sorry to burst your ego, but everyone pretty much knew," she informed him, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. "Well, of course except for Kal. He's always a step behind on what's going on."

"Well, you've just managed to completely crush my ego," he groused, leaning back to prop himself up with his outstretched arms as he studied his wife and son. "Did he have a rough night?"

"Yes, but he's settling down now," she told him. "I gave him some medicine. It seems to be finally kicking in."

"You look tired, Princess," he told her, concerned. "Why don't you go to bed? I'll stay with him for a little bit."

"Bruce, you've been up all night fighting the bad guys," she reminded him. "Go get some sleep. I'll be there shortly. He's almost out now anyways."

He contemplated her words for a moment, knowing deep down inside that something was still going on, more than she was telling him. It was beginning to worry him. "Are you sure you're alright, Princess?" he softly asked, a trace of fear evident in his voice.

"I'm fine, Bruce," she reassured him, reaching down to caress his face. "I'm just tired that's all."

"Promise?"

"Promise," she whispered.

She was dying to tell him that she was pregnant and that they were having a little girl, but at the same time she was nearly panicked over how he would react knowing that their daughter had been blessed by Aphrodite. He was already overprotective and paranoid about Nicholas who hadn't even displayed any special abilities yet.

How would he react knowing that his daughter had been blessed by the goddess Aphrodite?

Bruce moved up onto his knees, kissing her reverently before pressing his forehead against hers. "You know you're never allowed to leave me, right?"

Diana smiled softly with his words. "Hades himself couldn't drag me away from you."

"Good, because I'd have to hunt you down and seriously hurt you for breaking my heart," he teased as he got to his feet with a groan. "And I'd really hate to have to do that."

Diana rolled her eyes with his idle threat. "Like you could ever beat me."

"Do we need to schedule another training session to remind you who the better warrior is?"

"Oh, I already know I am so it would just be a waste of my time and yours," she grinned up at him.

"How so much fire and sass could reside in such a beautiful body is beyond me," he shook his head with a smirk dancing on his lips. "Hurry."

"I'll be there shortly," she reassured him. "We can't sleep in too late this morning, though. We have to go shopping for things for Nicholas."

"Just let me have three or four hours of sleep and I'll be good to go," he said, attempting to stifle a yawn as he made his way to the door.

"Deal…my Dark Knight," she replied, watching him as he paused at the door to flash her a smile.

Her insides immediately melted, amazing her all over again how this could be the same surly man that she had met out on that cliff so long ago. She knew she wouldn't give him up for anything in this world or the next.

She just had to figure out how to tell her husband he was going to be the father of a little girl blessed by the goddess of love and desire.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Diana stood before the mountain of bags before her, biting her bottom lip to suppress the weary sigh that had lodged in her throat as she crossed her arms against her chest. She had never in her life seen a bigger, more daunting task in her entire life and she was a superhero in the famous Justice League.

She cast a sidelong glance at the man standing beside her, a grim look on his handsome face, his arms crossed against his chest in a mirror image of her. He eyed the mound of purchases that lay before them waiting to be opened up and put to use. She could feel his doubt rolling off of him.

She finally turned to him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Do you think we forgot anything?" she asked, her voice full of amusement.

Bruce turned to face his wife, leveling her with a look of pure frustration. "I can't begin to imagine how," he sighed heavily. "It took nearly all day to accumulate it all. I think we finally melted my credit card."

"Now, we just have to figure out where it all is supposed to go," she replied, her near grin turning into a disappointed frown with the very thought. "I thought the clerk was going to have a heart attack when we showed up at the check out with two overflowing carts."

"I told you, Diana," he reminded her. "You can never be too careful."

"No, but you can be too fearful," she shot back. "Really, Bruce, we're going to have to have a long talk about your paranoia."

"It's not paranoia, Princess," he scowled in annoyance, wondering why she didn't share in his fears about their son. "It's called being realistic. We have no idea what our son is capable of yet. We need to be prepared for all possible outcomes."

"I'm surprised you didn't buy him a leash," she huffed, watching as one of the larger bags teetering on the very top of the pile suddenly began to tip before sliding down the mound and crashing onto the floor, all of its contents spilling out onto the carpet.

"That's what I forgot," he exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "I guess I can pick one up tomorrow on my way into work."

Diana turned a horrified look at her stoic husband, her mouth hanging open in utter shock. "Bruce Wayne!" she angrily cried. "You will not tie up our son like…like some…dog!"

Bruce cast a sidelong glance at her, a devious smirk suddenly playing on his lips. "I was just kidding, Princess," he told her. "I would never tie Nicholas up…unless I absolutely had to of course."

Diana swatted his shoulder, still appalled by the very thought. "Over my dead body," she angrily snapped.

"Ok, if that's the way you want it," Bruce shrugged as he quickly turned towards her, grabbing her around the waist and slamming her body against his as his hands began to attack her. "The boys will really miss you around here."

"Bruce!" Diana squealed as he picked her up. "You are so bad."

He finally set her back down on the floor at the sound of someone moving along the floor. "I think we may have a spy in the house," he cryptically told her, his gaze narrowing in mock suspicion.

Diana chuckled softly, shaking her head at her husband's playfulness. She could still hardly believe at times that this was the same impassive fearsome Batman that she had spent so much time pursuing, trying to get him to open up to her in even the smallest ways.

It was amazing what marriage and a baby had done to open his heart, bringing out the man that she knew lived deep inside beneath the many layers of deprecation and aloofness. She found herself falling more and more in love with him every day, more so than she had ever believed was possible.

She watched in amusement as Bruce quickly crouched low to the floor of the library, awaiting their little spy's arrival. "Don't scare him, Bruce," Diana warned him.

"Scare him?" Bruce looked back over his shoulder at his wife from his crouched position, a dark eyebrow cocked in surprise. "This is the same little boy who giggled the first time he saw me in the Bat suit."

Trying to stifle a giggle, Diana shook her head as she heard Nicholas drawing near, the sound of him crawling along the hardwood floor steadily growing louder. She could hear him jabbering to himself, wondering if he even knew what he was trying so hard to say.

She watched in amusement as Bruce waited patiently for their son to crawl towards him, knowing in her heart she could never get enough of moments like these with her family. Nicholas suddenly poked his little head around the corner, drool already running down his chin. He squealed excitedly at the sight of his parents, a grin on his face revealing his two bottom teeth.

Bruce couldn't help but smile in return at the sight of his son. "Come here, Nicholas," he coaxed him from his crouched position, holding his hands out to him to welcome him into his arms.

Nicholas excitedly crawled towards his father leaving a thin string of slobber in his path as he moved as fast as his little arms and legs could possibly take him. Bruce picked up his son as he got to his feet, throwing him up high in the air and eliciting a shriek of delight as he caught the little boy in his large hands.

"Master Nicholas!" Alfred called loudly. "Where have you scurried off to?"

Alfred's voice mingled with Nicholas's squeals as Bruce tossed him up in the air much to Diana's concern and yet she couldn't help the warmth that flooded her as she watched her husband with their son. "Bruce, he's not a foot ball you know."

"There you are, Master Nicholas," Alfred gently scolded him as he entered the libaray. "I don't know what Master J'onn's tests found, but I should say that speed is definitely enhanced in that little boy."

"You know we haven't heard from J'onn yet about Nicholas's test results," Bruce frowned as he held his son. "I need to contact him, see what he found out."

"I hope it's nothing bad," Diana frowned.

"I'm sure he's fine, Princess," Bruce reassured her, using his shirt sleeve to wipe the drool off of his son's face. "Except for the fact that he's drool machine."

"Oh he can't help it, can you little warrior?" Diana tilted her head as she gazed at her son.

Nicholas began patting Bruce's cheeks with his little hands, mumbling "dada's" as if trying to get his attention back on him. "Pup…pup…dada," he told his dad, raising his arms up in the arm in an attempt to get him to throw him up in the air again.

Bruce grinned at his son's attempt at talking. He didn't think he could possibly adore this little boy that he and Diana had made anymore than he did or be more proud of him. It overwhelmed him sometimes, terrified him how he had almost missed out on this amazing adventure if he hadn't allowed Diana into his heart that she'd already owned.

She had truly saved his life in more ways than just one.

In that moment, Bruce suddenly knew what he wanted to give Diana for their first anniversary, something special that couldn't be bought in a store, something that would come from his heart.

Alfred shook his head in amazement as his gaze fell on the mountain of bags that sat in the middle of the floor. "Well, it looks like you two cleaned out the store," he said as he stared at the enormous pile before them. "Did you leave anything on the shelves?"

"I tried to tell Bruce he was being paranoid," Diana replied as she made her way to the bags, crouching down to gather up the things that had fallen out onto the floor.

"I'm not being paranoid," Bruce maintained with a growl, kissing his son on his cheek. "I just want to…"

"Be prepared for everything," Diana finished for him with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, we all know."

"You'll be thankful someday that you married such an efficient, prepared man," he shot back, using his finger to pry open Nicholas's mouth. "Show dad your new teeth, little man."

Instead of opening his mouth, Nicholas began gnawing on his father's finger, eliciting a chuckle from Bruce. "Didn't you feed him at all today, Alfred?"

"I'm afraid young Master Nicholas has quite the voracious appetite," Alfred smiled, walking over and taking the little boy into his arms, holding him close with much affection. "We were just about to have our afternoon snack when he got away from me. It seems seeing his parents was more interesting at the moment than eating with Grandpa Alfred."

"Now do you believe me that we need that leash?" Bruce told Diana, folding his arms against his chest as he shot the Princess a triumphant 'I-told-you-so' look.

"My child is not going to be tied up like some animal, Bruce," Diana firmly maintained, her hands finding her hips as she glared at him.

"And I believe that is our cue to leave, Master Nicholas," Alfred abruptly said, taking Nicholas back to the kitchen and the snack that awaited him.

Bruce made his way to his Princess, pulling her into him as he forced her to wrap her arms around his waist. "You know I would never tie up our son," he told her, dipping his head to kiss her. "Now you, on the other hand, I would love nothing more than to tie up."

Diana couldn't keep the corners of her lips from curling with his suggestive teasing. "Why, Mr. Wayne, what a dirty mind you have," she teased as she leaned in to kiss him back.

"You have no idea, Princess," he murmured low in her ear, causing a shiver to race through her. "It's all your fault, though. You have no idea what you really do to me."

"Hmmm…I think I may have somewhat of an idea," she hummed, her fingers playing with the hair on the back of his neck as he pressed his hips fully against hers.

Bruce's lips captured hers again, anxious for some time alone with her, memories of the red panties that he'd found in his utility belt springing to mind once more. "I still need to repay you for the little red surprise you left for me last night."

"Hey, it's not my fault you got to bed so late last night," she reminded him, her eyes falling closed at the feel of his lips and nose nuzzling her neck.

"Another murder is definite cause for keeping me up late," he murmured against her throat.

"And this one is special how?"

"Possible serial killer," he mumbled, more occupied with kissing his gorgeous wife than discussing Gotham at that moment.

"Need some help?" she whispered. "I'm sure I could slip into something black and spandex to keep my true identity a secret."

Bruce groaned with the thought of her wearing something like that. "Not yet," he breathed, his mouth finally finding hers as his hands continued their heated exploration. "Maybe someday."

"Maybe?" she repeated, her annoyance evident in her voice. "Someday? Really, Bruce, you need to let me come help you. Do you know how much of a difference we could make together?"

"Talk later…kiss now," he said as he silenced her with another heated kiss.

"Ok, you two seriously just need to get a room and get it out of your system."

"Go away, Dick," Bruce growled, his tone holding more frustration than anger at being interrupted. "You don't even live here anymore, remember?"

"I came to see Tim if that's okay with you…warden," Dick shot back with a smirk.

Bruce finally released his hold on his wife to look at his surrogate son. "You two are up to something, aren't you?"

Dick grinned at him, knowing Bruce couldn't say anymore or risk blowing his surprise for Diana this coming weekend. "Nothing you need to worry about, Bruce."

Bruce's gaze immediately narrowed into a patented bat glare. He was stuck and Dick knew it. He could already feel Diana's confused gaze boring into him, silently questioning what was going on. He would get to the bottom of this one way or another. He always did.

"What makes you think they're up to something?" Diana asked as she cast a glance at Dick standing so innocently before them.

"Father's intuition," he replied. "You and I need to have a talk, Dick. Tim tells me you've had 'the talk' with him. I need to know exactly what you told him so I can set him straight."

"The talk?" Diana frowned, growing more confused by the second. "What are you talking about?"

"Later, Princess," Bruce told her, his heated gaze still locked on Dick as he mind continued to work at unraveling the scheme that his two eldest sons were secretly weaving.

"Just the basics…I swear," Dick laughed, doing his best not to buckle under his surrogate father's withering glare.

"Somehow that's not very comforting," he huffed.

"You worry far too much," Dick shook his head with a laugh before turning and leaving the couple alone again. "I'll see you two later."

"What was that all about?" Diana asked with growing annoyance as Dick left the library. She didn't like being left in the dark. Even though she'd been here for a few years, there were still many things in Man's World that was a complete mystery to her.

Bruce finally turned to his wife, roughly pulling her back into his arms again. "It's about the birds and the bees, Princess," he told her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her like she was supposed to know what it all meant.

"The birds and the bees?" she scrunched up in her nose, still perplexed. "What about them?"

Bruce chuckled with her obvious confusion and innocence that never ceased to completely charm him. "You know, Princess," he huskily replied, his lips grazing lightly over hers. "The talk about what happens when a man and a woman fall in love and make babies."

A smile slowly spread across her lips as he began kissing her behind her ear. "Oh…you mean the sex talk," she giggled, brushing her lips along his jaw.

"Bingo," he murmured, growing more preoccupied with his wife than the discussion they were having.

"Why didn't you just say that instead of wanting to talk about bees and birds," she laughed, the lilting sound creating warmth in his core. She truly had no idea what she did to him just by being her.

"That's just what it's called here, Princess," he told her with a smirk on his lips as he paused his tortuous assault to look into her eyes. "Didn't your mother ever have the talk with you growing up?"

"No, not really," she frowned as she thought back on it. "There were no men on the island so talk about procreation was pretty pointless."

"Didn't some of your Amazonian sisters hook up?"

"Well yes, but it just wasn't something that was really discussed. It's not like babies are made and born on Themyscira."

"Then how did you know so much when we first made love?" he asked, suddenly intrigued as he thought back to their first time together. It had been mind-blowing in every way.

"Shayera and the other female Leaguers," Diana shrugged a shoulder. "I just listened in on their talks. Besides, I'm blessed by Aphrodite so a lot of it was purely instinct."

"Remind me to personally thank Aphrodite someday," he smirked at her.

Diana chuckled softly in return as he kissed her again before releasing his hold on her. She feared he would definitely not be saying that once he found out that she was pregnant with his daughter and that their little girl was blessed by Aphrodite.

He would have a stroke from worrying about her if the way he was reacting to Nicholas crawling now was any indication. This would definitely put him in an early grave, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to hold out for too much longer. If things went the same as the last time she was pregnant, the morning sickness should be showing up any day now.

Bruce studied her for a moment, noticing the uncertainty that flickered across her face. "What's wrong, Princess?" he asked, his hand coming up to rest against her face as he stared into her eyes.

"Nothing," she smiled softly. "I was just thinking of how much work it's going to take to go through all of these packages. It's going to take weeks to Nicholas-proof the whole Manor and by the time we're done, he'll probably be walking."

"How about an iced mocha before we get started?" he suggested as he took her hand to lead her away from the daunting pile in the library.

"You have yourself a deal," she eagerly agreed.

Leading her to the kitchen, Bruce couldn't help but feel as though there was more going on. The more she denied it, the more worried he was becoming. Ever since Hippolyta's visit yesterday, she'd been somewhat distracted, worried almost. It was causing his own concern to grow.

He hoped that she would talk to him soon, couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to her. If he didn't get the answers he wanted soon, he was going to have to contact his mother-in-law to find out what was going on.

XXX

"I am so excited about this weekend," Tim grinned from his desk in his bedroom, his legs propped up on the edge of it.

"Guess who found out about Saturday night and invited themselves over?" Dick said.

"Who?" Tim frowned, hands clasped behind his head.

Dick let the suspense hang in the air for a heartbeat before finally revealing the name. "Wally."

Tim immediately grimaced with the mention of the scarlet speedster's name. "We are so screwed," he groaned. "Wally's a blast to hang out with, but something always inevitably goes wrong when he's around. We'll have to Wally-proof the house before Saturday night."

"I know," Dick agreed. "Which means Bruce will kill us if something does go wrong."

"Which will mean no more parties," Tim scowled.

"We're not technically having a party, though," Dick pointed out. "We're just having a couple of girls over to watch movies."

"And Wally," Tim reminded him, grabbing the basketball off of his desk and tossing it to Dick who quickly tossed it back to him. "Alfred definitely won't be too happy to see him."

"Hey, we can honestly say that we didn't invite Wally over," Tim pointed out, tossing the ball back to Dick. "I mean it's not like we can control who happens to just show up on Saturday night."

"Speaking of girls coming on Saturday night, I hear Bruce wants to have 'the talk' with you," Dick grinned from ear to ear.

Tim instantly groaned, his face growing pale. "Bro, you gotta save me…please, I'm begging you," he pleaded as he suddenly sat up in his chair, his knuckles turning white from the death grip he had on the ball.

Dick broke down in fits of laughter at the panicked look on Tim's face. "No can do, Bro," he shook his head. "I had to endure it and now so do you."

Time sank back in his chair in obvious disappointment, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Dude, I'm sixteen," he moaned. "I already know all about it."

"It's really not that bad," Dick tried to reassure him.

"Come on, Dick," Tim groused. "It's Bruce. He probably has a two hour long power point presentation with models and everything."

"Well, he does have this condom demonstration with this model that's…"

"What?" Tim shrieked, nearly falling backwards out of his chair before quickly righting himself.

"I'm kidding...I'm kidding!" Dick laughed. "It was just a joke. Relax!"

"Bro, that was so not funny," Tim glared at him, his hand on his chest as if trying to keep his heart from bursting free.

"The look on your face was priceless," Dick laughed, falling back on Tim's bed holding his stomach.

Tim threw the basketball at Dick, hitting him hard in the gut and eliciting a groan. "I think I'd rather talk to Diana than Bruce if I'm going to be forced to sit through it."

Dick sat up with a curious look on his face, cradling the basketball in his lap. "Are you serious?" he exclaimed. "You'd rather hear it from a woman?"

"Why not?" Tim asked. "Diana's super cool. She'd make it a lot easier and more fun than Bruce."

"You've got to admit, though," Dick replied attempting to spin the ball on the tip of his finger. "Bruce has loosened up a lot since he and Diana got together. You remember how uptight and sulky he used to be. He was absolutely miserable."

"Yah, you're right," Tim conceded. "It's just going to be awkward no matter who wants to talk to me about."

"It wasn't awkward with me," Dick stated, sitting up straighter on the bed.

"No, Bro," Tim laughed with the memory. "It was very short and to the point."

"Hey, you learned what you needed to know," he said as he threw the ball back at Tim.

"So who all do we have coming Saturday besides you, me and Wally?"

"Hopefully Barbara can make it," Dick replied. "Who did you invite?"

"This new girl I met," Tim grinned. "Her name is Stephanie."

"Wally is going to feel like a fifth wheel."

"Why wouldn't Barbara be able to make it?"

"She's going to try, but she didn't know for sure if she was going to be able to," Dick shook his head. "There have been a couple of murders in Gotham that Bruce thinks may be linked. He has her running down any information that could connect the two men."

"I'm still surprised that Bruce would actually leave town with a possible murder spree going on in Gotham," Tim thoughtfully replied.

"Me too, but it's Diana and it's their first anniversary," Dick shrugged. "You know Bruce. He wants it to be absolutely perfect for her."

"I never thought I'd see the day Bruce put love before Gotham," Tim smiled with a shake of his head. "It's definitely about time he allowed us to pick up more of the work in Gotham allowing him to have some semblance of a life for once. He's not going to be able to keep playing the Dark Knight for the rest of his life."

"Well, he knows that Robin, Nightwing, and Oracle have it covered while their gone this weekend," Dick pointed out. "Besides, they're only going to be gone for three days."

"Twenty bucks says he calls us Friday night to check up on things," Tim wagered.

"You're on," Dick said, reaching over and shaking his brother's hand. "I give it till Saturday night. Bruce is pretty head over heels in love with Diana. He's not going to be thinking about anything else but her at least for the first day."

"I agree about the love part, but you know Bruce," Tim shook his head. "He can't let go of anything when it comes to Gotham, especially if there's someone suddenly cleaning house."

"We'll just have to see," Dick grinned at his brother.


	9. Chapter 9

**So sorry for the long delay in updating. RL keeps trying to wreak havoc and keep me from writing. Hope you enjoy the update. Much more with Nicholas coming up soon! :)**

**Chapter 9**

Wonder Woman made her way to the daycare on the Watchtower, in dire need of some advice from her friend. John had told her that Shayera was there feeding Rex, asking if there was anything he could help her with, but she had kindly refused his offer.

Her fingers absentmindedly traced the edge of the golden lasso that hung at her hip as she entered the daycare, her thoughts still occupied with the things that her mother had told her. In fact, it was almost all she could think about now.

Her blue-eyed gaze immediately swept around the large room, searching for her winged friend as she took in the handful of children playing while their parents fought to keep the world safe. She made her way around miniature tables and chairs, a large plastic jungle gym and hundreds of toys that Bruce had made sure the daycare had been stocked with.

Bruce had personally handpicked the daycare staff after running complete background checks and extensive interviews that Diana had thought had been more like an interrogation worthy of a hardened criminal like the Joker. Her husband on the other hand had been adamant about making sure they only had the very best staff taking care of the League's children.

Diana had whole-heartedly agreed, but had feared that Batman interviewing a poor grandmother in her seventies as if she were moonlighting as Poison Ivy had been a little on the extreme side. She had been surprised by the number of staff that had not only survived the in-depth interrogations but had actually accepted the job. She thought for sure Bruce had terrified them all away, keeping them from ever returning.

She finally found the room in the back of the daycare meant for nursing mothers, allowing for discretion as well as solitude away from the other children as well as the daycare workers. Opening the door, Diana poked her head in, finding the object of her search sitting in one of the rocking chairs nursing her infant son.

The scene before her made her momentarily take pause. She had never seen the Thanagarian so happy. She was thrilled that her friend had found the love and the life that she had longed for. She truly deserved this after everything that had happened since she'd first come to Earth.

Shayera suddenly looked up to see her friend standing awkwardly in the doorway not wanting to interfere in the mother-son bonding moment. "Diana, come in," she greeted her with a genuine smile. "I didn't know that you were coming in today."

"Actually, neither did I," she replied as she made her way to her friend, settling down in one of the rocking chairs next to her. "Kal had a work emergency and needed someone to cover his monitor duty shift this morning."

"Well, I'm glad you're here," she said. "Have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

Shayera conspiratorially leaned her head a little closer to Diana before speaking again, keeping her voice low. "Dinah and Ollie are having a baby."

"Oh, Hera," Diana groaned with mixed emotions.

Shayera's brow furrowed with the Amazon's unexpected response. "Aren't you happy for them?"

"Yes, I'm very happy for them," the Princess explained, leaning her head against the back of the rocking chair. "Bruce won't be thrilled, though. He already thinks the League's become the 'Dating League' and the Watchtower a floating nursery."

Hawkgirl couldn't contain the snicker that rose to her lips. "I guess it kind of has," she shrugged a shoulder. "Bruce does realize that the whole idea of a daycare on the Tower was his, right?"

"Yes, but I doubt you'll ever get him to admit it," she nodded her head. "But beneath the grumbling gruff exterior, there beats a very soft heart."

"We're seeing it more and more every day because of you, though, he won't like to hear that."

"Well, it's about to get much worse up here," Diana drew a deep tenative breath.

"In what way?" Shayera frowned.

Ignoring her question, Diana delved into the real reason for her coming to see her friend. "Shay, I'm in desperate need of some advice."

"Sure, what's up?" she asked as she leaned her son against her shoulder and began patting his back. "Is Nicholas alright?"

"He's teething again, but other than that he's great," she told her, her voice full of motherly pride. "J'onn's tests all came back perfectly fine. He's slightly advanced for his age, but no sign of any gifted abilities yet. He's crawling all over the place and attempting to talk like mad."

"I can't wait for Rex to do more than just eat, sleep, and cry," Shayera sighed as she stroked her fine son's hair. "At the same time, I wouldn't trade moments like these for anything."

Diana reached over and rubbed Rex's back, remembering her own son right after he had been born. "I'd forgotten how small Nicholas once was," she said, reminiscing over that incredible moment when she had heard her son's first cry, held him for the first time, saw him so small in Bruce's arms. "It's definitely been an exciting adventure watching him as he grows, but it's also exhausting."

"You really do look tired, Di," Shayera suddenly noted with concern. "Maybe you should see J'onn just to make sure there's not something else going on. It's not like you to get tired."

Diana couldn't contain the excited grin that slowly curled the corners of her lips, lighting her blue eyes. "Oh, it's definitely more than being up with Nicholas for two nights straight," she said. "I'm pregnant again."

"That's wonderful, Di!" Shayera exclaimed with excitement. "How far along are you?"

"Not quite two months yet," she told her, her hand unconsciously falling to her abdomen as she thought about the little girl growing inside of her that she and Bruce had made.

"So what's the problem?" Shayera shook her head in confusion. "Is everything alright with you and the baby?"

"Yes, we're both completely fine," she quickly reassured her. "Everything's perfect so far. It's just trying to decide how best to tell Bruce about it."

"Why? Doesn't he want another baby?"

"Yes, I know he does and I know he'll be absolutely thrilled to know that we're having a little girl," Diana told her.

Shayera's frown of confusion turned into a smile of surprise as realization sunk in. "You already know it's a girl?"

"Yes, Aphrodite visited my mother during her prayers and told her I was having a little girl and that my daughter would be personally blessed by her."

"That's amazing, but I still don't see what the problem is."

"Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty, desire and…sex," Diana informed her, her head falling back against the head rest of the rocking chair with a groan. "Bruce is going to have a heart attack, Shay. He's not going to take this well at all. He's already very nervous about what gifts Nicholas might have been blessed with, worried about the gods interfering in our lives. This could push him right over the edge."

"You really think so?" Shayera asked, her forehead creased in thought.

"Shay, this is Bruce Wayne we're talking about," Diana exclaimed, leaping to her feet to pace back and forth before the Thanagarian as worry began to take over once again.

"I see your point," Shayera murmured as she got to her feet as well, making her way to the changing station.

"He's already freaking out about Nicholas crawling," Diana told her. "We went out yesterday and bought just about every imaginable baby gadget known to man in order to baby-proof the Manor. When he finds out that our baby is going to be girl blessed by the goddess of love and beauty, he's going to implode. He'll keep our poor daughter locked up in her room for the rest of her life."

"I don't know, Di," Shay thoughtfully replied, unconvinced. "Bruce has really changed since he let his walls down enough to allow you into his life. I have never seen him so happy or at peace as he is with you. You've really helped him to open up and allow people to see the man that you knew he was on the inside, the one the rest of us never if rarely got to see."

Diana couldn't help but smile with Shayera's words, unexpected tears suddenly stinging her eyes. "I love him with all my heart," she softly admitted. "He's truly the other half of my soul."

Shayera giggled at her, not laughing at her confession of love for her husband. "Well, you're definitely going to have to figure out how to tell him soon or those tears of yours will be a dead give-away that something's up."

"I afraid that he already suspects something," Diana guiltily bit her bottom lip, quickly brushing the salty droplets from her eyes. "He keeps looking at me with this worried look on his face, asking me if I'm alright."

"Well, you better tell him soon before you really freak him out," Shayera advised her friend. "You know how paranoid Bruce can get."

"I know…I know," Diana sighed heavily, leaning her back against the wall with a scowl on her face, crossing her arms against her chest as Shayera finished changing Rex's diaper. "I was thinking of telling him this weekend, but I don't want to ruin our first wedding anniversary by having an upset husband all weekend.

"Besides, I have a feeling that he's up to something special, but I just don't know what yet. He's being very secretive. I don't want to ruin whatever plans he may have."

"You already know you're not going to get out of him what he's really up to until he's good and ready," she replied as they left the nursing room, settling Rex down in a crib.

"That's for sure," Diana agreed, looking down at the little boy lying in the crib already fast asleep. "I just want to make it extra special for him, reassure him that it'll be alright."

"Don't worry, Di," Shayera reassured her. "We'll come up with something. Let's go get some lunch in the commissary and we'll see what we can come up with to sell this whole Aphrodite business to Bruce."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Diana smiled with relief as she followed the Thanagarian out of the daycare.

XXX

Climbing into his Porsche, Bruce's mind was being pulled in about ten different directions. Between everything that was going on at home, work, Gotham, and the Justice League, he barely had a moment's rest. Fortunately, that would all change come tomorrow…or at least he hoped.

"Call home," he requested as he pulled away from Wayne Enterprises.

It only rang twice before Alfred answered the phone, his proper English accent ringing throughout the car's interior. "Wayne residence," he formally greeted the caller even though caller ID had already identified who was on the other end.

"Alfred, it's Bruce," he said.

"Master Bruce," Alfred cheerfully replied. "What may I do for you?"

"Is Diana there?"

"I'm afraid Miss Diana is sleeping at the moment," he informed him.

There was a long pause as Bruce worked to process this little bit of unexpected information, concern mounting. It was beyond unusual for his wife to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon unless she'd been sent out on a particularly demanding mission. It caused his chest to suddenly tighten.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred finally broke the silence. "Shall I wake her for you?"

Bruce shook himself from his worried thoughts about Diana to respond. "No…no, it's alright," he finally replied, disappointment in his voice. "Let her sleep. I'm sure she needs it."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I was just calling to let her know that I have an unexpected meeting this afternoon with an entrepreneur who has recently moved to Gotham," he informed him. "I might be a little late for dinner depending on long it lasts."

"I'll keep a plate waiting for when you get home," Alfred said.

"Is Diana alright?" Bruce abruptly asked in a rush, his mind refusing to let go of the fear that was flooding it.

"I believe so, Sir," Alfred told him. "She went in this morning to cover a monitor shift and returned just a couple of hours ago."

Bruce's jaw clenched, his teeth grinding as he processed his butler's words. "Did she say if she went on a mission or anything?"

"No, I don't believe so. I believe she said it was actually fairly quiet. She had lunch with Miss Shayera after her shift before finally returning home."

Another long pause filled the air as Bruce's mind worked to figure out what was happening to his wife. "Is everything set?" he finally asked, knowing the perceptive butler would understand exactly what he was referring to.

"Yes, everything is ready and all the bags have been packed," he happily informed him.

"Good," he stated. "Let Diana know I'll check in with her later."

"Very well, Sir."

Bruce pushed a button, ending the call as he made his way through the busy traffic that filled the streets of Gotham on his way to his destination. He couldn't fight the scowl that had become fixed on his face or the way that his long fingers had a death grip on the steering wheel.

He wanted to turn the car around and head straight for home, corner Diana and find out exactly what was going on. Something was happening with his wife and he was going to find out what was wrong with her one way or another.

He could feel those long buried insecurities and fears twisting deep inside of him, desperately trying to claw its way back to the surface, telling him that he was going to lose everything that he loved all over again. He knew he couldn't allow that happen, though. He had finally found freedom from his dark past, freedom from the fierce grip of fear all because of Diana and he never wanted to become its prisoner ever again.

Bruce suddenly reached up and tapped his ear pierce. "Batman to Hawkgirl."

"This is Hawkgirl," her voice filled his ear after only a few seconds. "What can I do for you?"

"How was Diana today?" he asked in the low intimidating rasp of his alter ego.

"She was fine," Shayera told him after a long moment of hesitation. "She was tired from staying up with Nicholas again last night, but other than that she was her normal self. Is something wrong?"

Bruce thought for a moment before finally responding, trying to calm his heart. "No…just wanted to make sure. Batman out."

He cut the communication with Shayera before she could say anything more, feeling slightly ashamed for checking up on his wife like that, but only slightly. If she wasn't going to be forthcoming with whatever was going on with her then he'd do whatever it took to get to the bottom of it.

Bruce turned down another street, pulling his car up in front of one of the most elite restaurants in Gotham. A man in a dark blue coat and hat immediately came to the door to park the famous billionaire's car for him as Bruce exited with a curt nod of his head.

Bruce took the steps two at a time, knowing that he was running a couple of minutes late, but his meeting with Lucius had gone later than he'd planned. Straightening his tie, Bruce paused as he waited for the maitre d' to notice his presence, making sure that he had his trademark Bruce Wayne smile on his face instead of the Batman scowl that had just been there a moment ago.

The maitre d' finally looked up at the guest standing before him, blushing furiously at having kept Bruce Wayne waiting. "Please forgive, Mr. Wayne," he gushed, quickly stepping out from behind his podium. "Please follow me. Mr. Strong is right this way."

"Thank you, Philippe," Bruce smiled, following the short balding man to a table in the back that afforded them the privacy that they would require for business, ignoring the gawking stares of some of the patrons.

Glancing past Philippe, Bruce spotted a man sitting alone at Bruce Wayne's usual table. The man was frowning as he tapped furiously on his smart phone, his eyes suddenly lifting to the two men approaching him.

Darren Strong quickly stood to his feet, slipping his phone into his suit coat pocket. He was a tall man, but not quite as tall as Bruce and at least ten years younger. His green eyes hinted at the intelligence that he obviously possessed. His brown hair was slightly longer than Bruce would've guessed after talking to him on the phone this morning, but it seemed to fit his age somehow.

His goatee was neatly trimmed, his wire-rim glasses completing the formal look. "Hello, I'm Darren Strong," he politely introduced himself as he offered his hand to the famous billionaire before him. "You must be Bruce Wayne."

"I am," Bruce nodded his head, shaking the man's hand and immediately noticing his strong sure grip. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Darren."

"I must say the honor is all mine," Darren smiled as he took his seat again as Bruce settled in the chair across from him. "You're numerous accomplishments are quite impressive and recognized around the world."

"What can I get for you, Mr. Wayne," Philippe politely asked.

"Just ice water, please," Bruce requested, leaning his arms on the table and clasping his hands before him.

"I will bring it at once," Philippe nodded.

"I'm glad that you could find some time in your busy schedule for me," Darren said, reaching for his glass of scotch he'd been sipping on since he'd arrived a few minutes earlier.

"I had heard of your recent move to Gotham a couple of weeks ago and have been meaning to call you," Bruce admitted, nodding to Philippe as he set his glass of ice water on the table before him. "I'm very interested in what sort of business ventures that you are currently involved in."

"Most of my business involves electronics, but I have recently begun to expand some of my interests into other markets."

Bruce leaned a little further forward, curious about this potential business partner. He thought it quite odd that he had never met or heard of the man who obviously should have been running in some of the same circles as him, rubbing elbows with other well-known philanthropists and tycoons. He had meant to do some research on Darren Strong when he had first learned about this man moving his business to Gotham, but had been preoccupied with other things like keeping his city safe.

But then Darren himself had personally called him this morning at Wayne Enterprises, requesting to meet this afternoon to discuss business. It was an opportunity that he knew that he just couldn't pass up.

"I would like to hear more about your company and these new ventures of yours," Bruce told him as he took a sip of his water. "We might be able to work something out between our two companies. I could be interested in investing in your electronics division."

"I would like that very much," Darren agreed, his eyes falling to the platinum wedding band on the famous billionaire's left hand. "I'm also interested in knowing more about the real Bruce Wayne."

Bruce flashed him his patented billionaire smile as he sat back in his chair. "Don't the tabloids and newspapers provide enough fodder to tell you everything you need to know about me?"

Darren snorted in response, his smile growing and revealing a set of perfect white teeth. "You know you can't believe everything in the tabloids. Reporters only write whatever will sell their papers. So tell me, Mr. Wayne, what's it like being married to a beautiful super heroine like Wonder Woman?"

Bruce instantly bristled with his question, not liking for one moment the flicker of lust that suddenly flashed through Darren Strong's green eyes when he brought up Diana, but he quickly tamped down on it. "It's a constant adventure," he smiled tightly, his blue eyes narrowing with suspicious jealousy.

"She's quite the catch," Darren lifted his glass in a sort of congratulations to Bruce for nabbing the Amazon Princess, his leering smile growing even further. "Gorgeous, intelligent, powerful. I can only begin to imagine how amazing being married to something like that must be."

If drool had begun to escape from Darren Strong's mouth and run down his chin, he wouldn't have been the least bit surprised. Bruce's jaw muscles tightened, his anger flaring with the direction this man was choosing to go with this conversation. It had been completely unexpected and most unwelcomed…and he didn't like it one bit.

"Diana is an amazing woman," he tightly said, his smile now gone.

Sensing his anger, Darren quickly held up a hand. "Hey, I didn't mean to cross any lines," he apologized, his wolfish grin saying otherwise. "Just wondering how you managed to capture a tiger like that, pursuing and winning the hand of an immortal woman from an island of man haters. You must be pretty incredible in your own right to have attracted a woman like that."

Bruce found himself about two seconds away from planting his fist in Darren's jaw. "Is this what you wanted to meet with me about…my wife?" he snapped.

Bruce's voice was suddenly low and threatening as he bit out the last two words, his tone warning the man to back down or he would regret it. Darren broke into a soft chuckle as he motioned for the waiter to refill his glass of scotch.

"Not exactly, although I admit I would love to hear more about the stunning Diana Wayne," Darren told him, wiggling his eyebrows at the billionaire. "Actually, I wanted to meet the famous Bruce Wayne, find out what made the billionaire playboy of Gotham tick, what drives and motives you."

"That title was quickly retired after I began seeing Diana," Bruce coldly stated, the corners of his mouth curling into a derisive smirk. "And if you want to find out what makes me tick, keep traveling down the path you're on and you'll find out the hard way, my friend."

"Again, I apologize if I offended you," Darren sat back in his chair as well, taking the fresh glass of scotch from the waiter. "It seems that we've gotten off on the wrong foot."

"Maybe we should reschedule this to another time then, one where you're more prepared to discuss business instead of my personal life," Bruce said with a steely edge to his voice. "As you know, I have a wife and two sons waiting for me at home."

"No, please, Mr. Wayne," Darren quickly beseeched him, sitting up straighter in his chair once more. "I do want to discuss business. I have been such a fan of yours for so long that I allowed my curiosity and excitement to get the better of me."

Bruce glared at him for a long moment before finally responding. "What exactly did you want to meet with me about then?"

Darren shrugged his shoulders, settling back in his chair again as he took a long sip of his scotch. "I wanted to invite you to come visit my company, allow me to give you a tour and see if you would be interested in possibly investing in an exciting new venture I'm considering developing."

"I will definitely take it into consideration," Bruce tightly replied, his muscles remaining coiled tight and prepared for anything. "Send me the information about the new venture you wish to develop and I'll review it."

"Actually, I brought the information with me," he told him, leaning over to his left and digging into his briefcase, producing a manila folder. Darren slowly slid the folder across the table to him, his hand lingering on the document, his green eyes hardening as he stared down the billionaire. "I trust that this information will remain confidential between the two of us. I would be greatly disappointed if I found out that you took this idea and made it your own."

Bruce watched as the roguish persona of the philanderer suddenly disappeared like a flick of switch, a hardened cunning businessman in his place. It was disturbing to witness such a rapid change in personality making him wonder how much of this was real and how much was for show. He was going to have to be very careful with this one.

"You have my word," Bruce said with deadly calm as they stared each other down, knowing that he was going to have to find out everything he could on Mr. Darren Strong.


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry this update is so long, but I think you'll forgive me by the time you get to the end of it! Hope you enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 10**

Bruce frowned as he stared at his laptop, not liking what he was finding out about Darren Strong…or actually what he wasn't finding about the man. The fact that he had shown great interest not only in him but Diana has well had unnerved and enraged him, making him a definite priority to deal with.

This couldn't have come at a worse time, but he was more than determined to shove aside his fear in order to concentrate solely on his wife these next three days alone with her, celebrating the life that they were making together.

He cast a glance at the sleeping Princess curled up in the seat next to him. It hadn't been long after his private jet had taken off that she had soon fallen asleep while he'd been telling her about his meeting with Darren Strong. He had watched as her eyes had continually grown heavier by the moment as he told her how much he disliked the man, deliberately leaving out the things that he had said about Diana.

Watching her now, he couldn't suppress the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth, reliving her reaction this morning when he had finally told her he was taking her away for three days to a private island in the Caribbean.

The look of pure excitement and love on her face had been more than enough reward for him. Anything that happened from here on out between them was just going to be the cherry on top of the cake and he could hardly wait.

Getting to his feet, Bruce reached over to adjust the blanket he'd draped over her earlier, pulling it back up over her shoulders again. He paused to stare at her, losing himself in her exquisite beauty as well as the depths of his love for this incredible woman.

He leaned over, softly kissing her forehead, his name a sleepy sigh on her lips as she shifted in her seat. He truly hoped that being away with him would help her feel better although he highly doubted that either of them would be getting very much sleep this weekend if he had his way.

Returning to his seat, Bruce picked up his phone, sending a quick text message to Alfred to check on Nicholas. He had to admit that he wasn't sure who it was harder on to leave Nicholas behind – him or her.

It was the first time that they had been away from him for more than a day and it had proven to be somewhat of an emotional goodbye more so for them than for their son. Nicholas had been far more preoccupied with chewing on Grandpa Alfred's tie than saying goodbye to his parents.

Diana, on the other hand, had been an emotional wreck, repeatedly kissing Nicholas and promising she'd be back soon as tears trickled down her face. Bruce had finally had to pull his son out of her arms, handing him over to Alfred in order to get her out of the house.

Bruce knew that their son was in the best possible hands between Alfred, Tim, and Dick. He also had Clark and a pregnant Lois on standby in case anything came up. Even if something did happen, he had specifically given J'onn their coordinates on the private island in order to transport them immediately home in case of an emergency.

While worried about Nicholas, the majority of his worry laid with his other two sons and the trouble that they were no doubt concocting together. He had attempted to instill the fear of the Batman into them before he and Diana had left this morning, but he feared that it had fallen on deaf ears if the mischievous glint in both of their eyes had been any indication.

Diana had been worried about leaving Nicholas while he was teething and not feeling well, but he and Alfred had both reassured her that he'd be perfectly fine. He had always known that Diana would make an incredible mother, but seeing her with their son affected him in a way that he hadn't expected, casting a whole new brilliant light on her and showing him another facet of her beauty that radiated from deep within her. It was incredibly beautiful and very alluring.

Bruce smiled as he read Alfred's text message. [Master Nicholas is currently curled up in my lap with his blanket napping as I enjoy my cup of tea.]

He quickly replied with a [thank you Grandpa Alfred], knowing how much Alfred truly enjoyed spending time with Nicholas.

[How is Miss Diana? I trust she has recovered from leaving her son behind.]

[Yes, she's fine. She's sleeping right now.]

[Have a great time and don't worry about Master Nicholas.]

[Thank you, Alfred.]

Slipping his phone into his pocket, Bruce turned his attention back to his laptop and the in-depth search he was doing on his newest opponent, wanting to find out as much information as possible before he was going to have to push it aside until Sunday night.

He glanced at the manila folder that Darren had given him yesterday. He hadn't had a chance to look at it yet, but he fully intended to study the mysterious business proposal that had been offered to him. He already knew he didn't trust the man for one minute, remaining very skeptical about the offer.

Just then, the stewardess entered. "Mr. Wayne, can I refresh your coffee for you?"

"No, thank you, Ashley," he smiled.

"Tom wanted me to let you know that we'll be beginning our descent in approximately ten minutes."

"Thanks," he nodded as Ashley left him alone again with Diana.

Shutting down his computer, he eagerly turned his attention to his sleeping wife. He could hardly contain his growing excitement as he got to his feet, knowing they were finally here. He kneeled down in front of her, his hand coming to rest against her cheek.

"Princess," he gently called to her. "Time to wake up."

Diana murmured something in her sleep, melting into the feel of his hand against her face. Bruce shifted forward, leaning up on his knees to brush his lips against hers, smiling when she began to respond to his soft kisses.

He finally pulled back to gaze into her azure eyes heavy with sleep, unable to resist the urge to kiss her again. She softly moaned into his mouth as he deepened the kiss, his hands slipping into her hair.

"Sleep well?" he asked, pausing to plant a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Yes, thank you," she smiled sleepily, sitting up in her seat. "How long did I sleep?"

"Pretty much the whole trip," he replied, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"What?" she exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat to look out the small window.

Bruce chuckled softly at her as he continued to stroke her hair. "You must have needed it."

"Bruce, I'm so sorry," she apologized, turning her attention back to her husband. "I didn't mean to ignore you."

"Diana, its fine," he shook his head, taking her hand in his and intertwining their fingers. He brought their joined hands to his lips to kiss her knuckles. "I'm just glad you got the sleep that you obviously needed. You're going to need to be rested up for what I've got planned for you this weekend."

"Really?" she coyly replied. "And what could that possibly be? Checkers? Chess? Old Maid?"

"Definitely not those kinds of games, Princess," he chuckled, leaning in to capture her lips again in a slow sultry exchange.

Diana allowed her arms to wrap around his neck, tilting her head with a smile as she thought for a moment. "Hmmm…I have no idea what kind of games you have in mind then."

"I was thinking more along the lines of you," he began, pausing to kiss her hard. "Me…no clothes…your lasso…"

"I don't think Alfred packed my lasso," she slyly grinned. "Guess you'll have to come up with something else."

"Alfred packed most of your bags, but not all of them," he told her. "There was one that I personally packed especially for you."

"And what exactly is in this special bag you packed for me?"

"Just some of the necessities," Bruce cryptically replied.

"My necessities…or your necessities?"

"You are my only true necessity, Princess."

"Good answer, Mr. Wayne," she murmured before kissing him.

"I thought so," he nodded his head.

"So just what do you have up your sleeve?" she asked, playing with the hair at the back of his neck.

"I guess you're just going to have to wait to find out," he smirked.

"You never told me you owned a house in the Caribbean," she told him.

"Actually, we own it and it's a small private island," he explained.

"So we can do whatever we want…wherever we want?" she seductively purred as she raked her teeth over his earlobe.

She felt him shiver in her arms, his breath hitching. It had been a few days since he'd last been with her and he was growing more than desperate to be with her again. "Keep it up, Princess, and I'll be forced to take you right here."

"I'm not stopping you," she whispered in his ear.

"You've been driving me crazy ever since I saw you coming down the stairs this morning in the little red sundress you're wearing," he began to breathe heavily, his hands working up and down her back, occasionally pausing to play with the thin straps of her dress.

"So you like my new dress?" she asked.

"You have no idea," he practically growled. "I think you keep buying these dresses just to drive me out of my mind."

"Are you complaining?"

"Definitely not," he murmured before capturing her lips again in another heated kiss. He swore if he didn't get her alone soon, he was going to go crazy.

Just then, the signal to fasten their seatbelts for descent chimed loudly in the cabin, mingling with the sound of his low growl. "I think that means you have to go back to your seat," she told him, her fingernails lightly raking over his chest through his dress shirt.

"You're making it very difficult to want to let go of you," he told her, kissing her one more time before finally letting her go and returning to his seat.

Buckling his seatbelt, Bruce quickly found Diana's hand reaching across and grabbing hold of his, seemingly missing the contact with him already. He knew how she felt. He already missed it too. He had never dreamed that love could ever be like this, so intense and all-consuming. Diana made him a better man, made him want to be the best he could be just for her and the family they were making together.

And every time that he thought he couldn't possibly love her anymore, he would suddenly look at her and she would give him that million-watt smile, her azure eyes dancing brightly with love for him alone and he found himself falling all over again.

"What?" Diana asked, noticing the way that he was staring at her, the love blazing in his eyes.

He watched as a faint blush suffused her face as she shyly tucked a lock of silky raven hair behind her ear. "Just thinking about how much I truly love you," he finally replied, the sincerity in his voice causing her to flush warmly inside. "You're my whole world, Princess."

"I love you too, my Bruce," she softly declared, leaning over to kiss him.

Kissing her deeply as the plane began its descent, Bruce was beginning to wish he'd just had J'onn teleport them to the island and directly into the bed waiting for them.

XXX

Alfred gently bounced Nicholas in his arms as the little boy whimpered and cried, his face red and wet with tears. "It's going to be alright, Master Nicholas," Alfred cooed as he carried him into the kitchen to fetch a teething ring from the refrigerator.

Nicholas took the cool ring, immediately sticking it into his mouth as he laid his head against Alfred's shoulder. The butler tilted to press his lips to the top of the little boy's head. He was warm to the touch, causing him to grab the bottle of Infant's Tylenol.

He was thankful that Leslie had stopped by the Manor to check on Nicholas as well as to confirm their plans for tomorrow night. Alfred had purposefully made dinner plans with Leslie tomorrow night, leaving Tim and Dick fully in charge of Nicholas, spoiling whatever mischeivious plans they may have been forming.

However, the two partners in crime were completely unaware of this arrangement as of yet.

Alfred smiled to himself as he gave Nicholas his medicine. Little did Dick and Tim know who they were dealing with, although Dick should've definitely learned his lesson by now.

Gathering Nicholas into his arms again, he held the little boy close to him; murmured reassurances and giving gentle pats to let him know that he was going to be alright. He made his way through the Manor, strolling through the halls with a specific destination in mind.

Entering the study, Alfred chuckled softly to him as he gazed at the swing still sitting in the middle of the room half finished. Poor Miss Diana. She was struggling valiantly to get the swing put together for her son, but was finding this was one foe that refused to be beaten.

"You and I may have to put this together for your mum while she's gone," Alfred told Nicholas who was softly whimpering, the tears beginning to slow as he snuggled deeper into his grandfather's hold on him.

Leaving the study, he made his way to the library, shaking his head in amusement at the pile of bags that still needed to be sorted through. Bruce and Diana had managed to sift through several of the bags, putting several of their purchases to use already as they worked to Nicholas-proof the Manor, but they still had several more bags to go.

Making his way around the pile, Alfred rubbed Nicholas's back as he paused before the painting of Thomas and Martha Wayne that hung above the fireplace. He smiled softly at the dearly loved couple, knowing how much they would've loved Diana and Nicholas, Dick and Tim.

They would've been so very proud of what Bruce had made of his life, the choices that he had made and the fight for justice that occupied his nights. Staring up at the painting, he could see how much Nicholas resembled not only Bruce, but Thomas as well. He wondered if Bruce had noticed it yet.

"Master Nicholas," he began, turning so the little boy snuggled into his neck could see the painting. "That is your grandmother and grandfather, Martha and Thomas Wayne."

Nicholas jabbered softly, his indecipherable words interrupted by sniffles and hiccoughing gasps as he chewed on his teething ring. His other hand clung to Alfred's jacket, his little fingers curled tightly against the flap.

"They would've absolutely adored you if they hadn't been taken from this world so many years ago," he informed him. "And you would've loved them too. They were remarkable people."

He stood studying the painting for several long moments, lost in thoughts of what would've been had they not been gunned down so violently in that alley. He finally turned away, moving towards a beautiful framed picture of Bruce and Diana that sat on a desk.

It was their engagement picture that had been plastered across the front page of every single newspaper, tabloid, and magazine in every country around the world. They were side-by-side and slightly turned towards one another in the garden of Wayne Manor, their arms around each other's waists.

Diana's head was slightly tilted down towards her fiancé as she laughed at something that Bruce had said, a loving smile on the would-be groom's face as he appeared to be leaning in to kiss her temple. It was the sweetest picture, a true reflection of their love for one another shining brightly for all to see.

It was evident to all in that picture that their love affair was genuine, true love taken root in the hearts of the Amazon Princess and the Gotham billionaire playboy. Alfred was certain many hearts around the world, both male and female, were shattered the day their engagement had been announced.

Alfred thought that it was the most sincere picture that Bruce had ever taken since his parents had died, the true Bruce Wayne showing through in that moment, his many walls and barriers lowered in the wake of the beautiful Princess's love for him and his for her.

Nicholas suddenly raised his head to look at the picture, pointing and jabbering "mama" and "dada" with a sniffle. His tears were renewed as he stared at the picture of his parents, his bottom lip trembling as buried his face in Alfred's neck again.

Alfred tightened his hold on the little boy as he quickly turned away from the picture. "It's alright, Master Nicholas," he cooed. "Your mother and father will be back before you know it. In the meantime, how about we get a snack to drown our sorrows?"

Heading towards the kitchen once more, the butler couldn't help but wonder how Bruce and Diana were holding up being away from their son for the first time.

XXX

Diana looked back over her shoulder at the boat that sped away from the dock leaving them all alone in their own private sanctuary. She could barely believe the breathtaking beauty that surrounded them, the paradise that reminded her so much of Themyscira.

Being here suddenly made her feel a little homesick, a deep desire to see her mother and sisters unexpectedly welling up inside of her. She turned back to find her husband staring at her, his piercing blue eyes studying her with such an intensity that it caused a shiver to race through her.

He slowly made his way to her, his hand silently reaching out to take hers. He led her up the hill to the enormous house that sat upon it, sheltered beneath the gently swaying branches of palm trees. She could scarcely believe this was all theirs.

Opening the door, he led her inside, sweet anticipation building within now that they were finally alone. Closing the door behind him, Bruce shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched his wife wander around the living room, her eyes lit with amazement. He smiled as she paused to run her fingers along the top of the library table that rested against the back of the leather couch, loving the curl of her lips as she drank in her new surroundings.

He slowly began to walk towards her, making his way around the luggage that had been delivered to the house for them. His eyes raked over the perfect skin left exposed by her dress, appreciating the way the hem of her skirt lightly grazed her thighs and allowing a generous view of her long legs.

The more he watched her, the more he wanted her. And now that he finally had her all to himself, he wasn't going to waste another moment.

Diana turned to find Bruce standing right behind her, his lips crashing into hers as he kneeled down to pick her up in his arms. She fought down the moan that rose in her throat as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He carried up the stairs and down the hall to the master bedroom suite, not wasting any time as he deposited her on the large bed waiting for them. Kicking his shoes off, he quickly moved over her, his mouth plundering hers as he touched her every place he possibly could, this intimate contact with her not nearly enough.

He wanted so much more, wanted to feel and kiss every single inch of her, to hear her breathlessly crying his name once more.

Diana gasped as he raked his teeth over her collarbone, his hands pulling the straps of her dress down. Her hands moved over him as well, rising desperation taking over as she tugged his shirt free from his pants, her fingers sneaking up beneath the fabric to explore and stroke the muscular planes of his back.

"Diana," he moaned, her fingernails lightly scraping over his skin as she spread her legs and allowed him to settle against her.

Her hands moved to firmly grip his backside, squeezing him before sliding around to the front of his pants. Her fingers made quick work of his belt buckle, swiftly removing it and flinging it across the room without even looking or caring where it had landed.

Bruce pressed his forehead against her shoulder as her fingers slipped inside to grip him, stroking him and taking his breath away like only she ever could. His mouth began to attack her, his teeth sinking into her skin as his mouth sealed around it causing her to hiss with pleasure.

"Bruce…" she gasped, arching her back as he rolled his hips firmly against hers. He was definitely going to be leaving his mark on her quite a bit this weekend. Of course, she was never innocent in that regard either if the fingernail scratches she almost always left on his back were any indication.

At first, she had felt so guilt about the marks and scratches that she left on him after their passionate love making, but Bruce had quickly reassured her that he adored it and was proud to bear her mark, the visible proof of just how much she truly loved him.

He never wanted her to hold anything back when it came to showing her how much she loved him, never wanted her to fear hurting him. He had more than proven himself a worthy lover, more than capable of going toe-to-toe with her.

Bruce suddenly pulled her hand from his pants, intertwining their fingers. "You better stop, Princess," he rasped. "Or this will be over before we've really gotten started."

Diana chuckled softly, using her feet to push his pants down his hips. "Then you better get to work, Wayne," she breathlessly threatened him.

He quickly slipped her dress down her perfect body, kissing his way down to her breasts and unhooking her bra. She arched her back again as his mouth descended on her breast, his hand massaging the other one.

She raked her fingers through his short black hair, pressing her head back into the pillows and tilting back as he stole her breath away. He was rapidly setting her body on fire with his heated ministrations, her mind awash with the pure euphoria flooding it.

Suddenly sitting up, he pulled her lace panties off, a smug smirk forming on his lips. "You have no idea how much you tortured me when I found that red thong in my utility belt," he told her, breathing heavily as he began planting hot wet kisses along her thigh, pausing to pay special attention to her hip bone.

"So you liked it?" she finally managed to get out, tilting her head back again as he began to stroke her.

"Very…very…much…" he hummed against her flesh, sending a vibration of pleasure jolting through her.

He finally kissed his way back up her body, her hands moving to grip his shirt and ripping it from his body. The torn material went sailing through the air to join the belt she assumed, but she really couldn't be sure nor did she really care.

Bruce growled something almost feral as he began to assault her throat, kissing his way to her ear. "I liked that shirt."

"I'll buy you a new one," she murmured, grabbing hold of his face and bringing his mouth to hers.

His boxers quickly shared his shirt's fate, disappearing somewhere over the edge of the bed. He ran his hands down her arms, drawing them away from his body and up over her head, wrapping her fingers around the wooden slats of the headboard.

He knew he was at risk of having her demolish the headboard, but he couldn't have cared less at that moment with the feel of her pressed so deliciously between him and the mattress. He found her lips again, kissing her hard as a fleeting thought of creating an Amazon invincible bed flitted through his mind. That was one project he would take great interest in pursuing.

His mouth descended on her luscious body like a starving man denied food for weeks, anxious for everything that she had to offer him. He ran his hands down the length of her arms before attacking her breasts again, stroking and massaging them until she was arching and writhing from his touch alone, her breathing becoming labored with the constant string of moans spilling from her lips.

"Bruce…" she gasped, her hand slipping free from his headboard with a frantic need to touch him again as well.

"No, Princess," he huskily murmured in her ear, capturing her hand that had settled on his backside and pulling it back up to the headboard. He wrapped her fingers around the post again. "This is all about you right now."

"But…but…Hera!" she managed to get out between exerted breaths, tightening her grip on the headboard as he set her body aflame with a fierce need for him. "But you…what about you?"

She was quickly silenced by his lips on hers, his tongue stroking her mouth, her taste driving his need even higher. "Pleasing you…pleases me…more than you know…"

His hands found her thighs, caressing her smooth skin before drawing her knees up even further. He brushed himself against her, eliciting a sharp gasp at the feel of him so hard against her hot wet center. He smirked as he kissed behind her ear, raking his teeth over the sensitive skin there as he thrust his hips, sheathing himself deep within her core in one fluid motion that caused her to cry out.

Bruce gasped at the feel of her vice-like grip around him, forcing him to momentarily pause to regain control once more, his fingers clawing at the sheets. He began to move his hips, his lips finding hers as his hands finally began to roam over her body again.

He could feel the sweet tension in her muscles as she squirmed, biting her bottom lip. "Bruce…please…" she panted. "I…I…need…Hera! I have to touch you…please…"

"Not yet, Princess," he smirked against her throat as he continued to drive into her, his sure fingers caressing and stroking her into a heated frenzy.

He felt her begin to shudder and tremble beneath him, her teeth digging into her lower lip and drawing blood as she moved her hips with him, meeting each one of his powerful thrusts. She could feel the thick bands of wood in her grip begin to crack from the intense need for release that was pounding fiercely through her entire body now.

Bruce grinned as he heard the headboard begin to crack, knowing all along it was never going to last, not in his powerful wife's grip and definitely unable to withstand how passionately they made love. He was so thankful he was a billionaire and money was never an issue.

He quickly slid his hands up her body moist with sweat, up her arms to cover her hands still gripping the splintering wooden slats of the headboard. He continued to pound into her with wild abandon, his hands keeping her right where he wanted her as he moved over her.

Diana came with a primal scream of his name, taking him over the edge with her as he pumped into her a few more times before emptying himself deep within her. His lips found hers as he uncurled her fingers from the headboard that was barely holding together now. He interlaced their fingers as he pressed his body flush against hers.

"Bruce…" she whispered, breathless and boneless as she returned his languid kisses. "That was…great Aphrodite, Bruce…"

"You're amazing…Princess…" he breathed heavily, fighting to calm the hammering of his heart. "No one has ever…or will ever love you…as much I love you."

Diana smiled softly as she gazed up into his blue eyes, freeing her hand to caress his face. "I hope you never forget how much I truly love you, Bruce Wayne."

He smiled in return, his lips finding hers as he began to worship her all over again, knowing this was only the beginning of their weekend together away from all the stress and pressure of the dangerous lives that they led. He silently swore to himself, vowing in his heart to do everything in his power to keep her safe with him and in his life no matter what.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hope don't mind some brother bonding time as well as a little BM/WW sexy mischief! Enjoy the fun! :)**

**Chapter 11**

Nicholas stood on wobbly legs in front of Tim, his small hands tightly gripping his older brother's forefingers. Tim grinned at the little boy standing on unsteady legs, doing his best to teach him how to walk. So far, his attempts had been quite unsuccessful so far, resulting in Nicholas frequently landing on his bottom but it hadn't deterred Tim in the least.

"Come on, Nicholas," he encouraged him again. "Walk for your big brother. I know you can do it."

Nicholas bounced up and down on his legs as he jabbered excitedly, the adoration for his older brother evident in his eyes. It made Tim's grin broaden even more. He didn't think that he could ever love a little boy more than he did Nicholas and he was beyond excited about being able to babysit him this weekend.

Dick suddenly came around the corner at that moment with a plate loaded with food in one hand and a fork in the other. "What are you doing?" he asked with a mouthful of food.

"Trying to teach Nicholas how to walk," Tim muttered in concentration. "Come on, Nicholas. You can do it. Come on!"

"Bro, he's not a dog," Dick chuckled as he watched them.

"I know that," Tim scowled. "I've already got him saying my name now. Say Tim, Nicholas. Can you say my name for me?"

Nicholas grinned at his older brother, bouncing on his legs again and jabbering away in indecipherable sounds that sounded nothing like Tim's name. Drool began to escape from the corner of his mouth as he babbled on, causing Tim to sigh in disappointment.

"Well, he did it before you came in," Tim maintained. "You must have broken his concentration."

"I'm sure I did," Dick nodded his head in amusement.

"You realize that he just started crawling a few days ago, right?" Dick pointed out. "He won't be walking for a couple of months yet at least."

"I know that," Tim frowned at his brother's pessimism. "We're just getting a head start on it. I thought we'd surprise Bruce and Diana when they came home."

"More like give them a heart attack," Dick snorted as he shoved another forkful of food in his mouth. "You saw how nuts they went when Nicholas started crawling. Can you imagine how they'll react when he starts walking?"

"Or when his super abilities start to manifest itself," Tim chuckled at the thought.

"Hey, are we all set for tomorrow night?"

"Stephanie is definitely coming," he replied with obvious excitement. "How about Barbara?"

"She can't come," he replied. "Bruce has her working on tracking down information on some new guy who has recently moved to Gotham, but Donna is definitely coming."

"Donna…as in Diana's sister?" Tim asked.

"Yes, she's super hot and lots of fun," Dick grinned.

"So she looks just like Diana," Tim smirked. "What about Barbara?"

"What about her?" Dick frowned. "Barbara and I haven't been together in over a year."

"I know, but I thought that you still kind of had a thing for her," Tim shrugged, turning his attention back to Nicholas and his lessons.

It was Dick's turn to shrug as he finished off his supper. "A small part of me probably always will," he admitted, his eyes suddenly growing distant in thought. "But she and I decided to just remain friends."

"Whatever makes you happy, Bro," Tim replied. "Ok, Nicholas, say my name. Say Tim. You can do it. Say my name for me."

Nicholas giggled and drooled and chattered away at fast clip, telling a tale that only he could possibly understand. Dick threw Tim the drool rag, hitting him square in the face. Tim took it and wiped Nicholas's mouth for him.

"Mm…Mm…" Nicholas babbled with a grin as he released one of Tim's hands to reach for his brother's face. "Mm…"

"He said it! See?" Tim exclaimed in excitement, picking him up and hugging him tight, his affection for the little boy evident on his face. "I told you he could say it."

"Yah, it sounded just like it," Dick rolled his eyes as he settled into a chair across from them. "Did you teach him my name?"

"No," Tim shook his head. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm his brother too."

"But I'm his favorite," Tim grinned.

"I think you're his favorite brother…after me," Dick shot back.

"Since you're his favorite then you can give him his bottle before bed," Alfred suddenly announced as he entered the game room, handing Dick the bottle.

Dick got up and scooped Nicholas up into his arms, causing the little boy to squeal in delight as his brother tossed him up in the air. "Come here, little bat," Dick tickled him before finally settling back in his chair, holding Nicholas in his arms as he gave him his bottle. Nicholas's hands greedily wrapped around the bottle as he began to drink it down, his eyes focused in complete fascination on Dick.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow night?" Alfred cheerfully asked, looking from one to the other and noticing the look they briefly shared with one another.

"Just having a couple of girls over to watch some movies," Dick nonchalantly replied, brushing it off as nothing. "Nothing big."

"I'm glad to hear that," Alfred nodded his head. "Because you two will be busy babysitting Nicholas while I go out with Leslie for an evening of dinner and dancing."

"What?" Tim and Dick both cried, sitting up straighter with the unexpected news.

"But we have plans," Tim told him.

"As do I," Alfred smiled pleasantly. "I'm sure the girls won't mind helping you babysit your little brother."

Both men groaned in unison, Dick looking down at the adorable little boy in his arms that looked so much like his parents there was definitely no denying his parentage. Nicholas kicked his legs in excitement now that he had his brother's attention again, his little hand reaching up to touch Dick's mouth. Dick quickly pretended to gobble up his hand, causing the little boy to giggle between gulps.

Dick's heart melted in that moment just like it usually did whenever it came to Nicholas. What was not to love about the little boy with Bruce's looks and Diana's heart?

"I can't believe this," Tim mumbled to himself. "We'll have to call it off."

"No, we don't," Dick told him. "Nicholas is in bed by seven thirty at the latest. We'll have the rest of the night to do our own thing."

"You will also need to feed him his supper, give him his bath, and his bedtime bottle," Alfred reminded him. "Oh, and don't forget Miss Diana and Master Bruce always read him a book while rocking him in the chair before bed."

Dick and Tim's shoulders both sunk with the news. Things were definitely not going as planned. "We'll take care of him," Dick reluctantly reassured Alfred.

"I know you'll both do a marvelous job of it," Alfred smiled proudly. "If Master Bruce didn't think so, he wouldn't have suggested I take the evening off tomorrow night."

Dick and Tim both stared at each other, the final piece of the puzzle falling into place. "Should've known," Tim grumbled under his breath, flopping back on the floor in exasperation.

Alfred chuckled softly to himself as he turned to leave the two conspirators alone. He wished that Bruce could've been here to see the looks on his sons' faces, but he was certain his surrogate son was more than preoccupied with Miss Diana at that moment.

XXX

Bruce lay on his side in their bed just watching his wife as she slept, drinking in and memorizing every minute detail of her beautiful perfection. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her since he had awoken almost an hour ago, recounting the love they had made since arriving a few hours ago.

They hadn't been able to leave their bed yet, drifting off to sleep only to wake to a sensual kiss or an intimate touch in secret places. It never ceased to amaze him that when it came to Diana, sated never seemed to last very long before the flames of desire ignited all over again.

Each time with her seemed so new and exciting, hungrily exploring one another all over again, giving and taking, receiving and uniting as one.

He reached out to lightly trace the delicate curve of her cheek, noticing how her long black eyelashes lightly brushed against her cheekbones, adoring the way her lips curved slightly in her sleep making him wonder what she was dreaming about and secretly hoping it was him.

Her tousled raven curls felt like the finest spun silk between his fingers as he stroked it, wondering for the millionth time what he had ever done to deserve such a striking goddess. He leaned in, nuzzling his nose against hers, anxious to gaze into her blue eyes again.

Diana began to stir in response to his touch, the feel of his warm lips lightly grazing hers. He suddenly shifted, rolling her onto her back as he braced himself above her as he continued to kiss her. Her lips curled before her eyes finally opened to the sight of her handsome muscular husband looming so temptingly above her.

She playfully peeked up at him through her eyelashes, a mischeivious grin slowly spreading across her lips. "And what do you want?"

Bruce smirked at her teasing before his lips connected with hers in a heated rush of passion. "You…always and forever…only you, Princess," he huskily said as he kissed his way along her cheekbone to her ear.

"Hera, Bruce," Diana gasped at the feel of his teeth raking on the sensitive skin behind her ear, his hand snaking down her body. "What time is it?"

"Eight o'clock."

"I guess we missed dinner, didn't we?"

"Are you hungry?" he asked, nibbling on her ear.

"Starving," she purred as she stretched her lithe body like a feline beneath him.

"For me or for food?" he grinned, loving the way her muscles flexed and contracted, her movements always so graceful and tantalizing to him.

"Both," she murmured as she took him by surprise, suddenly rolling him onto his back and pinning him to the mattress. She took his hands, locking fingers and restraining his hands on either side of his head. "How were you planning for us to eat? You can't cook and Alfred has yet to really teach me."

It was Bruce's turn to gasp as Diana moved her hips against him, her breasts grazing against his chest. "I always have contingency plans, Princess," he told her. "Haven't you learned that about me by now?"

"I guess the feel of you beneath me must be making it rather hard for me to think straight right now," she sweetly replied.

Bruce suddenly sat up, keeping her on his lap right where he wanted her as his large hands roamed over her back. He leaned in, kissing her slowly, all of the plans he'd for her this evening quickly slipping from his mind as the idea of just keeping her here in bed with him took its place.

"Do you still miss Nicholas?" he murmured as he kissed along her throat, her hair an ebony veil shielding them from the outside world.

"Yes, but I know he's in good hands…so I'm trying not to worry about him," she breathily admitted.

"Good," he said as he continued to kiss her. "I miss him too, but I want to make this a weekend you'll never forget."

"You already are," she whispered, her fingers running through his hair. "Now, let's go down and get something to eat so we can come back up here and continue this so more."

"Hmmm…" he thought for a moment. "Or we can continue this…get something to eat and still come back up here to start again."

Diana chuckled a throaty sultry sound that did nothing to ease his growing desire for her nor did it help when her head fell back, her long gorgeous hair spilling like a silken black waterfall down her spine and over his hands. His mouth quickly assaulted her slender throat she left exposed to him, causing her to gasp again.

She gently grasped his face, pulling him up to kiss him deeply. "Come…I'm famished," she insisted, extracting herself from his hold on her.

He growled in frustration as he watched her climb off of him and out of their bed. He flopped back against the piles of pillows with a huff as he studied her flawless form as she looked for her sundress that they both knew had to be around here somewhere in this room.

He watched with great fascination as she picked up his shirt instead, the one that she had ripped off of him earlier, pulling her long raven hair out from its confines. She looked positively stunning standing there in his damaged shirt, only able to button a couple of the buttons across her bust that were barely hanging on by a thread.

He groaned to himself as he finally crawled out of their bed. "You're killing me, Princess," he growled low in his throat. "I don't know how you think I'm going to be able to sit there and eat dinner with you while you're wearing my shirt."

She bent over and picked up his boxers, holding them out to him by the tip of her finger, her dark hair tumbling down over her shoulders and a seductive smile on her slightly swollen lips. A long curly lock rested just inside of his shirt against her partially exposed breast, causing his throat to go dry with building desire.

"You are so damn sexy," he murmured as he roughly grabbed hold of her and pulled her into a very heated kiss that left them both panting for more.

Diana pulled back with a wicked grin as she handed him his boxers once more. "And hungry," she reminded him. "Don't forget very hungry."

Bruce chuckled softly as he slipped his boxers on, taking her by the hand. "Come on, Princess," he said, leading her from their bedroom. "Let's get you fed so I can get you back up here."

She followed him downstairs, anxious to see exactly what he had planned for them to eat. While difficult leaving their bed, her stomach had ended up winning out. She was also anxious to see the little island that they called their own.

Bruce flipped on the lights as they entered the large kitchen, going straight to the refrigerator to see what he could find. Opening the fridge doors, he chuckled affectionately when Diana suddenly poked her head under his outstretched arm, looking to see what they had.

"You are hungry," he laughed, looking down at her crouched position.

"Alfred stocked the refrigerator?" Diana gasped in surprise at what she saw.

"Actually, he prepared several meals for us to heat up," he sheepishly informed her. "I transported them down here yesterday. The housekeeper, Lesia, stocked the refrigerator with groceries for us."

"You have a housekeeper here too?" she turned her head up to look at him.

"Of course," he shrugged. "Someone has to look after this place when we're not here."

Diana suddenly shifted her position, standing up right in front of him and blocking his view. He quickly wrapped his arms around his adorable wife, resting his chin on her shoulder. She began to pull containers from the fridge, inspecting its contents until she finally found what she was looking for.

"How about Alfred's chicken risotto?" she suggested.

"That sounds perfect," he agreed, reluctantly releasing his hold on her as he moved towards the oven.

"You do know how to turn the oven on, right?" she teased.

"Yes, I know how to turn the oven on," he snapped in mock indignation.

She kissed him on the cheek as she handed him the dish. "Just making sure," she smiled. "I'd hate to accidently burn down the house. We'd never live that one down."

Bruce waited until it was preheated before placing the dish in the oven, finally turning to find his wife standing on the other side of the kitchen before the glass doors that led outside to the back patio. Her arms were crossed against her chest, a distant look on her face.

He slowly made his way to her, his arms snaking around her waist as he pulled her back against him. He inhaled deeply, absorbing her intoxicating scent that was now mingled with his own. He nuzzled his nose inside his shirt, finding the numerous marks that he had left on her shoulder and collarbone. It thrilled him to know that she bore his mark alone. She belonged to no man but him.

"Penny for your thoughts," he murmured as he placed gentle kisses against her bruised skin.

Her hand reached up to lovingly run her fingers through his hair, savoring the feel of being wrapped up in strong arms of safety and love. She wanted so badly to tell him that she was pregnant with his daughter, to share with him the excitement and joy of what their love had made, but she and Shayera had come up with a plan to break the news to him and she didn't want to spoil it or his plans for this weekend.

"Just thinking about how much I love you," she finally admitted, the sincerity of her words warming his heart. "I'm never happier than when I'm with you and our family."

"I know…me too," he agreed.

"I don't ever want to lose you, Bruce," she softly said, her voice suddenly choked with unexpected tears. _Damn these hormones,_ she thought to herself.

Bruce paused in his assault on his wife's neck, stunned by her emotional confession. "Princess, we knew going into this relationship that someday I would have to leave you," he gently reminded her as he tightened his hold on her. "If I had my way, you know that I'd stay with you forever."

"I know," she quickly replied, wiping away the unwanted tears. "I'm so sorry, Bruce. I didn't mean to ruin the weekend you have planned for us. I was just overwhelmed by all of this…by how much I truly love you. I…I never truly understood what all love could mean until you."

"You haven't ruined anything," he heatedly said, turning her around in his arms to face him. He placed his finger beneath her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I love you and I want to spend my entire life making you happy."

"You already have, Bruce," she told him, her hand coming to rest against his check. "More than you can begin to imagine."

His lips found hers, his tongue slipping inside to sensually slide against hers as they began to lose themselves in each other. He suddenly pulled back as her fingers began tracing long the top of his boxers. "Are you ever going to talk to me…tell me what's really going on with you?" he gently asked, his breaths coming in exerted pulls for air.

Diana scrunched up her nose in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Ever since your mother came to see you that day, you've been somewhat distant…preoccupied," he told her, his hands moving to cup her face. "There's something you're not telling me and it's got me worried."

"I promise it's nothing you need to be worried about," she replied, leaning in and kissing him in reassurance.

"So there is something," he said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously, unfazed by her kiss for the first time in his life. He needed answers and he wasn't going to be deterred this time.

Diana sighed in reluctant acceptance of the fact that she could never hide anything from her detective husband. "Yes…there is, but it's nothing bad…I promise," she attempted to reassure him.

"Is there something wrong with you?" he asked, his eyes roaming over her face in a desperate search for any sign that he was going to lose her.

"Bruce, I'm fine," she smiled. "Wasn't I fine upstairs?"

Bruce allowed a chuckle to slip through despite the worry that consumed him. "Diana, what happened upstairs was far more than just fine. You rocked my world…several times."

"Please, don't worry," she said. "I just want us to enjoy this weekend together. I haven't gotten to see you much the last three nights."

"Are you ever going to tell me?" he frowned.

"Yes, I promise I will tell you everything when we get back."

Bruce studied her for a long moment, trying to decide if he should let it go for now or not. In the end, he ultimately decided that he trusted her with his life…with his heart. He knew that she would never purposefully hold something back from him unless she had a good reason.

Releasing a ragged breath, he finally conceded. "Alright, Princess," he eventually relented. "I'll let it go for now, but I expect some answers after we get back."

"Deal," she grinned, her face suddenly growing serious. "I love you...so very much, Bruce Wayne."

"I love you too, Princess," he murmured, his lips capturing hers in a sweet kiss just as the timer went off on the stove.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, quickly releasing him and pushing him aside as she ran for the oven. "Dinner's finally ready."

Catching his balance, Bruce shook his head as he followed his wife, charmed to his core by her. Grabbing two plates, he placed them on the counter before fetching silverware and a couple of bottles of water from the refrigerator. He had to admit he was rather famished himself. His Princess had given him quite the workout already and he was more than anxious to eat so he could get her back upstairs again.

Sitting down the barstools at the counter, they readily dug into their dinner, neither able to keep their eyes off of each other as they hungrily downed the meal Alfred had prepared for them. "So what are the plans for tomorrow?" Diana finally asked, holding his hand as she ate.

"Whatever you want to do, Princess," he replied. "We have the whole island to ourselves to do as we please or we can go to St. Lucia or Barbados if you want." He leaned in close, kissing her before she could take another bite. "Or we can just stay here…in bed...together."

Diana giggled with his suggestion, returning his kiss before feeding him a bite of her chicken risotto from her plate. "I'd love to explore our little island with you," she said. "I just don't want you to get bored with me in bed."

Bruce grunted with her teasing words, rolling his eyes as he shook his head in utter disbelief. "There is no chance in hell of that ever happening," he shook his head. "You have no idea how much you turn me on just by doing nothing at all."

He watched as a pink blush rose up her chest to suffuse her face as she dipped her head in embarrassment. "You tend to have the same affect on me too, you know," she confessed. "Do you know how hard it is to sit next to you during a founder's meeting sometimes?"

"What?" he asked, stunned by her admission. "Really?"

"Most definitely," she grinned. "Having you sit there beside me in your uniform, the determined set of your jaw. I just want to jump you right there and attack you so badly sometimes I can hardly stand it."

"Oh really?" he smirked, inclining his head towards her. "And all this time I thought my perfect wife was sitting there listening so carefully to Clark when in reality she was thinking lustful thoughts about me."

He watched with great amusement as her blush deepened even further. "I can't help it," she maintained. "You're just so sexy and so handsome."

"So, you're saying it's my fault?" he cocked a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Like you're hardly innocent yourself," she rolled her blue eyes. "I see the way that you pretend to be paying attention to Clark when in reality you're paying attention to my legs."

"I admit to absolutely nothing," he claimed as he watched her take a drink of water, counting down the moments until she was finally done eating.

"It's alright, Bruce," she replied with a knowing grin. "I know the truth and that's all that matters."

"And that is?"

"You're obsessed with my legs," she smirked at him, raising her bare leg enough to rub it against his.

Before she knew it, Bruce was on his feet, lifting her off of her barstool with a squeal of surprise. She quickly found herself flung over his shoulder, his hand on her back holding her in place as he headed towards the stairs. "Dinner is definitely over," he told her.

"Bruce, put me down!" she cried between fits of laughter, both knowing she could easily break free if she really wanted to.

"Once I get you exactly where I want you," he told her as he carried back to their bedroom to continue where they had left off.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Diana shielded her eyes from the intensity of the afternoon sun with her hand, wondering what was taking Bruce so long. He had offered to go inside to get them both some iced tea, but that had been at least a half hour ago or so.

They had spent the entire morning walking hand in hand as they explored their little island paradise, Bruce pausing to show her all the most beautiful views as well as to steal kisses that never ceased to take her breath away.

It had been wonderful just spending time with him away from all the duties and responsibilities that tried to pull them in so many different directions, to just be Bruce and Diana…husband and wife for a little while.

She sat up in her lounge chair on the beach, closing her book as she turned to look back at the house for any sign of her husband and found absolutely nothing. She sat back in her chair with a sigh of disappointment, knowing he was probably on his laptop messaging Dick or Tim to see how patrol had gone last night or doing more research on Darren Strong.

Ever since Bruce had told her about taking her away for the weekend, she had been secretly wondering just how long it would actually take before he finally surrendered to his paranoid tendencies and checked in with the boys or Barbara to make sure everything was going smoothly in Gotham.

She had woken up in the middle of the night last night to discover him gone; his side of the bed rumpled and the satin sheets cool to the touch making her wonder just how long he'd been gone. She had silently crept downstairs to find him outside on the back patio in a lounge chair with his laptop working on something or other. She hadn't stuck around to discover what it was, returning to bed hopefully without him knowing she had caught him in the act.

He had gone to so much work making their first anniversary together so special and she didn't want to ruin it in anyway. She couldn't begrudge him for needing to check on things back home, his incessant, almost obsessive need to make sure things stayed under his control. It was just the way that he was and one of the many reasons that she had fallen so hopelessly in love with him.

She wouldn't want to change him for anything in the world though she did wish that he would relax a little more while they were away from their roles in Gotham and the Justice League. He needed this break far more than she did, needed to just unwind and not have to think or worry about anything or anyone else for a few days.

Shifting her leg from the lounge chair on the beach to dangle over the side, Diana dipped a red painted toe into the warm soft sand, shivering unexpectedly when the cool water of the incoming tide suddenly splashed on her toes.

"You realize you leave me no choice but to ravish you senseless when you taunt me with your leg like that."

Without looking back, Diana's lips curved at the sound of his voice, her eyes falling closed as she continued to leisurely dip her toes in the wet sand, enjoying the feel of it on her skin. "I love to live dangerously."

"Princess, everything about you is dangerous," Bruce replied as he sat down in his lounge chair next to hers.

She peeked at him through her long eyelashes, surprised to see him setting a wicker basket down in the sand. "Just what are you up to?"

"Thought you might be getting hungry again," he replied, reaching into the basket and pulling out a chilled bottle of wine. "I have to take care of my wife, make sure I keep her fed."

"And ply me with alcohol so I will do your bidding, Mr. Wayne?"

"Possibly," he shrugged a shoulder before pouring her a glass and handing it to her as his hungry eyes roamed over her perfect form all over again. "Have I told you yet how magnificent you look in that red bikini?"

Diana chuckled softly as she took a sip of her drink. "Only about a dozen times since I put it on just before lunch," she told him. "Seriously, Bruce, I can't believe you packed it for me to wear. There's hardly anything to it."

"That's the idea, Princess," he flashed her a smile, removing a container of fresh strawberries from the basket. "I get to stare at you in it all I want, but no one else gets to."

"My lasso would cover more skin than this does," she shot back as she moved over to sit on his lounge chair facing him, her back to the ocean and her knees brushing against his.

"Have you looked at your uniform lately?" he asked. "You run around in that all day long without even a second thought and you're worried about your bikini?"

"My uniform covers ten times more of me than this string bikini does," she said as she popped a strawberry into her mouth. "I might as well be wearing nothing at all."

"Whichever you prefer, Princess…I won't argue with either option," he grinned wickedly, quickly closing the distance to kiss her, enjoying the sweet taste of Diana mingled with strawberry on his tongue.

As they continued to kiss, Diana shifted closer to him, her arms snaking around his neck. She finally broke the kiss only to continue a very slow tortuous assault along his defined jaw line, her lips, tongue, and teeth all combining and working together in perfect unison to slowly and methodically drive him crazy.

"I wish you'd learn to relax more," she murmured against his tanned skin.

"I'm very relaxed," he rasped, losing himself to her ministrations.

He could feel her smile against his throat as he groaned with steadily building pleasure, his hands gripping her waist tight enough to be painful had it been another woman, but this was his Amazon Princess…his Diana.

Kissing her way to his ear, she breathily asked, "Oh, really? And what did Barbara learn about the mysterious Darren Strong?"

"Nothing much," he huskily breathed, his eyes falling closed with the intense sensations she was creating within him as she raked her teeth over his pulse point, not even thinking about what he had just divulged to her.

It wasn't until she giggled that he realized that she had tricked him. He pulled back quickly, his hands grabbing hold of her arms as he gazed into eyes dancing with amusement. "How did you know?"

"Because I know you, Bruce," she grinned proudly. "I knew you couldn't go this whole weekend away without checking in on things especially with this new Mr. Strong staking claim in Gotham now."

"And just how many times have you checked on Nicholas since we left?" he asked with a narrowed gaze.

"Only a couple of times," she sheepishly replied, doing her best to keep him from knowing she was bending the truth, resorting to biting her bottom lip to keep her poker face in place.

"Right, Princess," he snorted. "First of all, we both know what a horrible liar you are and secondly, according to Alfred, it's been at least five times that."

Diana's face grew a little sorrowful as she stared at him. "I can't help it. I miss our little boy," she admitted before abruptly turning suspicious as realization sunk in. "Wait! How do you know that I've been checking on our son?"

It was suddenly Bruce's turn to look chagrinned as he held his wife in his arms, the gentle sound of the waves lapping on the beach the perfect backdrop to their romantic interlude away from real life. "I just wanted to make sure Nicholas was alright," he confessed. "Is there anything wrong with a father wanting to make sure his son is okay?"

"No…not at all," she fought to suppress a grin as she captured his bottom lip between hers. "In fact, I think…it's very…sexy," she said between kisses.

"Hmmm…I'll have to remember that when we get home so I can use it to torture you for leaving your panties in my utility belt," he growled, pausing long enough to take a bite of a large strawberry.

"I wonder how those got in there," she attempted to frown, but it didn't last for long as he leaned in and kissed the half smirk right off of her lips.

He swallowed her moan as well as his strawberry as he tightened his hold on her. "There will be repercussions once we get back, Princess," he promised her in that baritone rasp that sent shivers up her spine. "When you least expect it, my revenge will come and you will regret you ever decided to tangle with me."

Diana stared at him for a long moment before suddenly breaking into fits of laughter. "I'm sorry, but that's not going to work on me, Bruce," she giggled almost uncontrollably, her hand covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter, but it was futile. "You don't scare me at all. In fact, I've never been scared of you even after I first met you."

She watched as his blue eyes narrowed in irritation, his best bat glare boring straight into her in a valiant attempt to intimidate. Unfortunately, it only made her laugh even harder. Bruce tried his best to look angry, but it was impossible when his wife was so damn adorable.

He had fought some of the world's most dangerous criminal masterminds , had faced death head-on and lived to tell about it more times than he could count, had been stabbed, beaten, and shot on multiple occasions and yet he found himself being brought to his knees and rendered completely powerless by a certain Amazon's infectious laughter.

Unable to bear it a moment longer, Bruce suddenly sprang to his feet, picking up his princess in his arms. "You are in so much trouble now," he playfully growled. "No one laughs at Batman and gets away with it."

Diana attempted to stifle a giggle as he carried her into the water. "If I'm going in, you're coming with me," she warned him as he suddenly dropped her only to have her pull him down into the water with her.

She swiftly came up out of the water, a victorious smile plastered all over her face. She wiped the water as well as her long hair from her eyes as she searched for her husband only to find him nowhere in sight. She quickly began turning in circles looking for Bruce, anxiously waiting for him to pop up out of the water. However, the longer she waited without any sign of him, the more worried she became.

"Bruce?" she called, wading in a little deeper into the water until it covered her bust. "Come on, Bruce. This isn't funny. You're scaring me!"

Diana was met with nothing but the sound of seagulls and the water lapping on the sandy shore. She dove under the water, frantically searching for him, her chest tight with fear that he had hit his head or something worse when she had pulled him under the water with her.

Her lungs began to burn the longer she looked for him without success, causing her to give up her search for the moment. She broke the surface in a rush with a heaving gasp, a frantic expression on her face when she found that he had still not come up to the surface for air.

Before she could dive back into the water to continue her search again, a pair of powerful arms suddenly circled around her waist from behind, taking her by surprise. "Looking for something, Princess?" he breathed heavily on her neck as he pressed his hard body against her back.

"Bruce!" Diana cried, overcome with relief.

She swiftly turned, throwing herself into his arms and nearly crushing him in her embrace as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. Stunned by her reaction, Bruce wrapped his arms firmly around her, holding her close to him only to realize that she was crying.

"Hey…it's alright, Diana," he gently reassured her as he held her. "I'm right here."

"I thought I'd lost you," she managed to choke out.

"I'm so sorry, Princess," he guiltily replied, rubbing her back as he tried to comfort her, hating himself for worrying her like this. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Bruce felt terrible for upsetting her, startled that he had reduced her to tears like this…until she suddenly shifted her position from his embrace, sweeping his legs out from under him and pushing him back under the water.

Diana smirked as she began to swim back towards the shore, proud of her victory over the great Dark Knight of Gotham. "Gullible," she laughed to herself.

She was quickly pulled to an unexpected stop by a hand grabbing hold of her ankle and yanking her backwards. Before she knew it, she found herself trapped in his embrace, his hot mouth on hers so rough and insistent that it nearly buckled her legs as she lost herself in the heated moment.

"You play very dirty," he panted, his mouth latching onto her collarbone.

Diana gasped as his fingers dug into her hips, her hands finding his wet hair as she clung to him. "I wasn't the one pretending to have drowned," she pointed out, finding it difficult to form coherent sentences with his surprise assault on her.

Bruce suddenly pulled back at that moment, giving her a quick peck on the lips before leaving her breathing hard and wanting more. "We should probably get cleaned up soon," he said as he began to swim towards shore, a confused Diana watching him. "I made dinner reservations on St. Lucia for seven o'clock. We'll need to leave here soon if we want to make it on time."

Diana followed him, disappointed that he didn't want to continue what he had started in the ocean, but she swore to herself she would have him in the water one way or another. "You are going to join me in the shower, right?" she asked as she paused by her chair to grab her towel as he gathered up the basket and strawberries. "I may need some help getting the sand out of my bikini."

"We'll see," he nonchalantly replied, pretending to not be interested in her at the moment. "I've got some other things I need to attend to before dinner tonight."

"Your loss," she practically purred as she cast a sultry glance at him over her shoulder.

He watched as she began to make her way up to the house, the way her hips swayed so seductively causing his throat to suddenly go dry. He nearly swallowed his tongue as she reached behind her to untie the top of her bikini; the tiny red strings giving way and leaving her back bare to him save for the long wet strands of raven hair that stuck to her skin.

Keeping her back to him, Diana held her arm out to her side, dropping the scrap of red material that was her bikini top onto the sand as she sauntered towards the back patio. Whatever little self-control Bruce still had left at that moment completely snapped the exact moment Diana's fingers began to tug on the red strings that rested low on each hip.

_She is most definitely going to be the death of me_, he thought to himself as he swiftly chased after his wife into the house.

XXX

Dick ran to get the door at the sound of the bell, excitement about the evening bubbling inside of him despite the fact that they were charged with taking care of Nicholas. He loved his little brother too much to feel as if he was in any way ruining their plans for the evening. Besides, he was positive Donna and Stephanie wouldn't mind.

He'd already fed Nicholas his supper and Tim was in the process of giving him his bath before putting him in pajamas for the evening. It had been a little trickier feeding him his dinner than Dick had first imagined it would be, but once he let Nicholas have the spoon to feed himself, things had gone much smoother especially once he started to get the hang of it.

It wasn't his fault that half of Nicholas's food ended up in his mouth and the other half all over him. The little guy was still attempting to master the massive feat of getting the spoon into his mouth. Tim had groaned at the sight of Nicholas covered from head to toe in his supper, his dark hair matted with puréed pears, but Tim had volunteered to give him his bath so he couldn't exactly complain.

Opening the front door, Dick suddenly lost the ability to breathe or make his tongue comply with his brain's commands at the sight of Donna Troy standing on his front steps. She was quite similar to Diana in many ways including looks which meant she was drop-dead gorgeous.

Dick had been meaning to ask her out since he had first met Donna at Bruce and Diana's wedding, but having just broken up with Barbara he feared it was too soon and didn't want to hurt her feelings. Then, one thing led to another and before he knew it a whole year had passed. Now, it was finally time to get to know the Amazon.

Donna smiled brightly at him, her eyes dancing with amusement as she waited patiently for Dick to invite her inside the Manor, but it didn't appear to be happening any time soon as he stood there and stared at her.

"Um, are you going to invite me in?" she finally requested.

"Oh, sorry," Dick quickly apologized, stepping aside to allow her entrance. Just as he did, Stephanie arrived as well. "Hi, you must be Stephanie," he greeted her as she approached. "I'm Dick Grayson, Tim's older brother."

"Nice to meet you," Stephanie smiled at him as she followed Donna inside.

Dick led them to the entertainment room, offering them each a seat on the couches. He was just about to ask them if they wanted something to drink when Tim's horrified scream suddenly carried its way downstairs to Dick's ears.

"Dick!" Tim yelled. "I need help! Now!"

Dick bit his lip in mild embarrassment as he smiled pleasantly at the two girls sitting before him, trying to appear as though everything was completely in control. "If you'll excuse me for just a moment," he told them before turning and bolting from the room.

He raced up the stairs as fear clawed at his throat as thoughts of what could have happened began to besiege his mind. Bruce and Diana had trusted them with their son for three days, Alfred for one whole evening and already they were in deep trouble.

Running into the nursery, Dick opened the door to the bathroom to find it full of bubbles. "Tim!" he yelled as he entered, nearly slipping on the wet floor only to catch himself just before he actually fell. "What the hell happened in here?"

"Dick!" Tim yelled from somewhere in the massive sea of white bubbles. "We had a little accident."

Before Dick could ask about Nicholas, a familiar giggle erupted from where the bathtub was supposed to be beneath the suds. The giggle was quickly followed by the sound of splashing water and Nicholas's familiar chattering.

Dick released a sigh of relief knowing that no one appeared to be hurt at least. "Tim, where are you?" he called, carefully stepping on the wet tile floor as his arms swept bubbles out of his way.

"I'm by the tub with Nicholas!" he shouted back.

"What happened?" Dick asked as he cut a path through the bubbles that had overtaken the bathroom.

"I put Nicholas in his tub seat in the bathtub and started the water," Tim began, his voice revealing the overwhelming exasperation he was feeling at that moment. "All I did was turn my back for a few seconds to get his favorite bath toys from the shelf. When I turned around, he had somehow managed to knock the entire bottle of bubble bath soap and the baby shampoo into the bathtub."

Finally finding his brothers, Dick could barely stifle the laughter that stuck in his throat. Tim and Nicholas were covered in bubbles, a wide grin on Nicholas's face and a look of utter failure on Tim's. Dick reached over and shut the still running water off.

"Why didn't you just shut the water off?" Dick laughed.

"I didn't think of that," Tim sheepishly admitted as he wiped the sides from his face. "I panicked when bubbles began pouring over the side of the tub. I just started grabbing towels to clean it up while still trying to keep an eye on Nicholas. It just happened so fast."

"Well, he seems to be enjoying himself," Dick grinned as he reached down and picked up the little boy.

Nicholas giggled again, clapping his hands as if Tim had performed a magic trick, wanting him to do it again. He quickly reached out and began grabbing at the bubbles, trying his best to capture them only to find them gone as soon as he opened his hands.

Confused to find them gone, he tilted his head as he stared at his empty hands only to look into Dick's face for some sort of explanation as to where they had gone. The expression of pure confusion and fascination on his little brother's face was hilarious, causing Dick to laugh even harder.

"You can't capture them, little bat," Dick told him in amusement, walking over to find a dry towel. "Come on, Tim. We'll clean this up later. Let's get him dressed and get downstairs. Donna and Stephanie are here."

"Already?" Tim exclaimed his eyes widening as he exited the soapy bathroom to look down at his appearance. "Bro, I gotta change. I'm covered in soap and water."

"Go get changed and I'll get Nicholas into his pj's," Dick suggested, taking Nicholas to the changing table.

Nicholas strained to get free from Dick's hold on him, wanting to go back to the bathroom to play in the bubbles, but Dick wasn't about let him go. "Hold on, little Bro," he chuckled at him. "Let's get you diapered and ready for bed. We've got dates downstairs waiting on us."

Laying him down on the changing table, he quickly dried him off and put a diaper on before grabbing his onesie pj's. Just as Dick got one foot inside, he felt a sudden breeze enter the room.

"Are you nuts? You're not putting him in those are you?"

Dick looked up to see Flash in full red uniform leaning over the changing. "Why not these?"

"Because those are Superman pajamas," Flash huffed in annoyance. "You can't tell me Nicholas prefers Superman pajamas to Flash. Where are the red Flash pj's I got him?"

"I think Bruce burned them," Dick told him with a smirk as he zipped up the pajamas, helping Nicholas to sit up.

Nicholas instantly reached out to Flash, jabbering at the scarlet speedster. "Hey there, little buddy. Want to come to Uncle Flash?" Wally gushed as he picked him up and took him into his arms before turning his attention back to Dick. "Bruce did not burn them and if he did, I'll just get him new ones…maybe a matching set for both Nicholas and Bruce."

Nicholas quickly began tugging on Flash's mask with his little fingers, trying to figure out how to get it off to no avail. He settled for grabbing at his nose and pinching it, laughing excitedly when Flash made amusing honking sounds every time Nicholas grabbed his nose.

"Ok, I'm ready," Tim suddenly announced as he entered the nursery.

Flash turned his attention to Tim, noticing how flustered he looked. "What happened to you?"

"Just had a little accident with the soap…nothing more," Tim adamantly declared, casting a dark glare at Dick in silent warning to keep his mouth shut.

Flash began to crane his neck towards the bathroom when Dick grabbed him by the arm, escorting him from the nursery. "Come on," he said. "Donna and Stephanie are downstairs waiting for us."

"Did you get a girl for me?" Flash excitedly asked as he began to follow them from the nursery with Nicholas in his arms. "Wait…Donna as in Diana's gorgeous sister Donna?"

"That's the one," Dick proudly beamed.

"What about Linda?" Tim asked, confused as they made their way down the hall. "Aren't you two together anymore?"

"Well, yah, sort of I guess, but she's busy tonight," Flash admitted.

"Good," Dick said, clapping the scarlet speedster on the back. "You can be in charge of Nicholas while Tim and I watch movies with the girls."

Flash sighed as he looked at Nicholas, but the disappointment quickly vanished. "I guess it's you and me tonight, little partner," he grinned. "Let's see what trouble we can get into."


	13. Chapter 13

**Special thanks to Dark knight 602 for the idea for the pearl necklace! Hope you enjoy it! :)**

**Chapter 13**

Diana walked hand in hand with her handsome husband, ignoring the scattered murmurings that seemed to follow them everywhere they went in public together. Even here on the island of St. Lucia they seemed to recognize Wonder Woman and therefore her husband Bruce Wayne.

Bruce always teased her that he was finally famous now that he was married to Wonder Woman despite the fact that he was the formerly known billionaire playboy of Gotham and the owner of one of the most successful companies in the entire world.

She bit back a smile as Bruce suddenly tightened his hold on her hand after a piercing cat call and a few appreciative whistles filled the air. She dipped her head slightly in mild embarrassment, hooking a raven curl behind her ear as they drew near to their destination.

Bruce nodded his head to the doorman, smiling as they opened the door for them. "Thank you," the billionaire said, his hand falling to the small of his wife's back as he ushered her in first.

He could hardly take his eyes off of his wife. She looked amazing in a little black strapless dress that allowed a generous view of her gorgeous long legs. Her raven hair was pulled up, random curls falling to frame her face. A tremendous amount of grace exuded her every movement, her alluring presence immediately drawing in everyone's attention like a powerful magnet.

The couple came to a stop before a middle-aged woman who quickly welcomed them with a broad smile. "Good evening, Mr. Wayne," she immediately greeted them. "It's so good to see you again. Please follow me to your table."

Diana took his hand again, glancing at him with mild surprise. "I take it you come here frequently, Mr. Wayne?"

"Not in the last year or so," Bruce admitted, averting his gaze and secretly hoping she wouldn't delve any deeper.

"She obviously still remembers you," Diana pressed, growing more and more curious as they were shown to their table in a quiet corner of the veranda that overlooked the sun setting on the water. "So, just how many women have you brought here before me?"

Bruce cleared his throat, quickly taking a drink of ice water in order to buy himself some time before finally responding. This was not going to be good any way he tried to look at it. "A few," he nonchalantly replied, trying to brush it off as nothing and desperately hoping she would change the subject.

Diana suddenly felt a sense of jealousy flare inside of her knowing that he had brought other women here, women that he had loved and slept with before her. She had started out just teasing him, but now she found it greatly bothered her.

She had always known there had been several women before her and had come to accept it knowing that he loved only her now, but it still somehow managed to make her jealous at times. It wasn't like he had anything to be jealous of when it came to her.

"So I'm not the only one you've brought to your private island paradise and made love to in that bed," her clipped response suddenly sliced through the thick tension that had enveloped them, wishing she hadn't brought it up the moment the words had spilled from her lips. She sounded so petty, so catty.

Bruce bristled with her words, guilt flooding him as she studied the vase of flowers in the center of their table, unable to meet his eyes. He suddenly realized that he had made a big mistake by bringing her here.

All he had wanted was to plan something extra special for his wife, showing her just how much she meant to him, how she had completely changed his life for the better. He had never thought once of the handful of women that he had brought here, only that he had wanted to share this beautiful island with her.

"I'll take your silence as confirmation," she softly spoke, her fingers picking invisible lint from the white tablecloth that was draped over their table.

She bit her bottom lip, afraid that she was going to lose control, silently cursing her hormones for rearing their ugly head already. She could feel the tears beginning to burn in her throat when she felt a hand suddenly covering hers, his fingers wrapping protectively around hers and holding it firmly.

"Diana, look at me," he gently yet firmly said, waiting until she could finally meet his gaze.

It was so heated and intense that she found that she couldn't have looked away even if she had wanted to. He was practically drawing her in and wrapping her up in his love for her, causing all her resentment and jealousy to suddenly melt away.

"You know there were other women long before you, Princess," he told her, his thumb softly brushing against the back of her hand as he spoke. "I even believed that I was in love with a couple of them at one point, but it wasn't until I met you that I learned what love truly was."

Bruce reached over to caress her cheek with his free hand, gazing deeply into the bluest set of eyes he'd ever seen. "I have never loved anyone and never will love anyone as much as I love you, Diana. All of those other women were just like silly boy school crushes compared to what I feel for you."

Diana slowly nodded her head in understanding, afraid to test her voice at that moment as he slowly closed the distance between them. His lips brushed so softly…so sweetly against hers, conveying his love for her in that kiss as he slowly began to deepen it.

It was a kiss of reverence and reassurance, wordlessly hinting at things yet to come later tonight. He was making her head spin with the love he was expressing as his hand slipped into her hair, the feel of his lips so possessive against hers making her feel so light and weightless.

She slowly opened her eyes as he finally broke the kiss, leaving her longing for more. "I'm sorry," she murmured, her hand coming to rest against his cheek, her thumb softly stroking over his lips. "I just hate the idea of ever sharing you with anyone."

"I'm yours and only yours, Princess," he reminded her. "I wish I had known you years ago, but I have you now and that's all that matters. I have to say, though, you are incredibly sexy when you're jealous."

Diana blushed at letting her emotions get away from her. "You're just lucky I don't have past lovers to make you jealous."

"You already give me plenty to be jealous about," he snorted with obvious annoyance as he reluctantly sat back in his chair.

"What are you talking about?" she shook her head in confusion. "I have no past love interests for you to be jealous of and you know you were my first lover."

"Do you know how hard it was trying to hide my jealousy when the whole world was trying to pair you and Clark together?" he practically growled. "You have no idea how many newspapers I tore to shreds because of how jealous I was about the world's fascination with you and Superman."

Diana chuckled softly, his heated jealousy evident in his piercing blue eyes. "I knew you were unhappy about it, but I wasn't exactly certain why at the time. I just remember Flash reading it at one of the founder's meetings. One moment the newspaper was in his hands and the next it was balled up in the corner of the room.

"I thought you were just angry that Flash wasn't being serious at the League meeting. I had no idea it was because you were jealous of the headline."

"Not one tabloid ever tried to pair you with Batman," he scowled. "You know it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility."

"Obviously," she giggled.

Just then, their waitress arrived, taking their orders and leaving them alone once more. Bruce didn't think things could be more perfect as he stared at her, the view of the water along with the gentle strains of music in the air all served to make it the romantic setting that he had hoped it would be.

His hand slipped into his pocket, his fingers brushing over the velvet box that secretly rested inside. He was anxious to give her the anniversary gift that he had arranged to be made for her, but he wanted to wait until after dinner, maybe walking along the beach.

"So what trouble do you suppose Tim and Dick are getting into tonight?" she asked, breaking his train of thought.

"If they're smart, hopefully none," he frowned, capturing her hand once more. "I told Alfred to take the evening off, leaving Dick and Tim in charge of taking care of Nicholas."

"Why did you do that?"

"Hopefully to keep them out of trouble," he grinned conspiratorially at her.

"You don't have much faith in them," she laughed. "You allow them to join you in your nightly endeavors, but don't trust them to stay out of trouble at home?"

"I have a lot of faith in them," Bruce grunted. "I just know them too well. Something always goes wrong."

"I'm sure everything is fine," she reassured him. "They love Nicholas and would never let anything happen to him. Besides, they know if anything happened to our son, they'd have me to deal with."

Bruce chuckled softly at the entertaining thought, knowing they would probably be in bigger trouble with her than him if something did go wrong. "Let's not talk about them," he told her. "I'd much rather talk about you and how stunning you look in that dress."

"I'm assuming Alfred packed it since there's more material to it then the bikini you brought along for me," she teased him.

Bruce flashed her a playful smirk that caused an unexpected flutter of desire in the pit of her stomach. "Well, you won't be wearing it for much longer if I have any say about it," he said just low enough for her to hear him, his lustful gaze practically burning right through her.

He watched with great amusement as her cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink as she peered at him over the lip of her water glass. "You look pretty handsome yourself, Mr. Wayne," she told him, her free hand slipping beneath the table to find his muscular thigh.

She felt Bruce immediately tense beneath her hand as she slowly began stroking his leg. She began to eat her salad as if she had no idea she was beginning to drive him crazy, maintaining a very composed façade.

They spent dinner as well as dessert just talking and laughing, one of them always touching the other as they shared their dreams and hopes for their future together, their worries about Nicholas. Diana adored times like this spent with Bruce where he allowed himself to truly be open and vulnerable with her, allowing her to see his fears as well as his heart.

It hadn't always been like this, though; so easy and open and relaxed with him. Even after they were married, Bruce had still tried at times to pull inside of himself, attempting to keep her at arm's length, but those moments were starting to become fewer and a little farther between the longer they were married.

She knew, though, that it would be something that he would likely struggle with for as long as he lived, but she was more than prepared to be there every step of the way, making sure he didn't lose himself to those demons inside that attempted to draw him away from her.

Bruce paused as he suddenly noticed the way that his wife was staring at him, the intense love and longing he saw simmering in her blue depths causing his breath to catch in his chest. "What is it?" he finally asked as he squeezed her hand.

"You," she softly admitted, her gaze roaming over his handsome face tanned from the sun. "I always knew in my heart that we could have such an amazing love and life together if you just let me in and you didn't prove me wrong.

"Thank you for letting me into your world…into your heart," she told him, placing her hand against his chest as she stared into his blue eyes suddenly shining so bright because of the things that she had just said to him. "I am so deeply in love with you, Bruce Wayne."

Bruce took her hand from his chest, bringing it to his lips to kiss her palm, his eyes never leaving her face. "And I am madly in love with you, Princes," he told her, reaching into his pocket with his other hand, knowing this was the right moment he'd been looking for. "I've got something for you."

"Bruce, you didn't have to get me anything," she shook her head. "This weekend with you has been beyond perfect. I don't need anything more than you."

"I want you to have this," he said, flipping open the dark blue velvet box. "I looked at so many different sets of jewelry trying to find the perfect gift to express my love for you, but nothing seemed good enough. Then, I suddenly knew the other day that this was gift I needed and wanted to give to you."

Diana stared in the box, tears blurring her vision as he lifted the single pearl on a silver chain from the box. He got up, moving to stand behind her as he fastened the necklace around her slender neck before taking his seat next to her again.

He watched nervously as she looked down at the single pearl suspended on the delicate chain, her trembling fingers picking up the small treasure. "It's one of the pearls from my mother's necklace…the one that she had been wearing…that night. My father had given her that necklace on their wedding anniversary," he told her, his fingers reaching out to caress the pearl as if it might somehow help him reach his mother. "I know I don't always let you in like I should, but it's only because I fear that the darkness inside of me will corrupt you and I couldn't live with myself if I allowed that to happen."

"Bruce…" she began, tears of pure happiness trickling down her cheeks at the significance of this moment.

"But you have proven time and time again that you're so much stronger and far more radiant than any darkness I could possibly feel inside of me. You have my heart, Diana. You've had it long before I was willing to admit it to you or myself. I'm yours…forever."

"Bruce, I…I don't know what to say," she murmured, looking down at the beautiful pearl rest against her breastbone. "This means more to me than you know, sharing your past…your parents with me like this."

Bruce couldn't suppress the grin on his lips, thrilled with how much Diana loved his gift, but his happiness turned to concern as her tears suddenly began to fall faster. "What's wrong?"

"I…I have something for you too, but I can't give it to you until after we get home," she softly admitted. "I have something special planned for you, but if I had known you were bringing me here I…"

"It's alright, Diana," he reassured her, gently erasing her tears with his fingertips. "You didn't need to do anything for me. You are more than enough."

Diana chuckled softly through her tears, her hand falling to her abdomen. "It's a little late for that," she replied.

"I'm sure whatever it is I'll love it," he smiled at her, kissing away the remainder of her tears.

"I truly hope so," she murmured, losing herself in the feel of his lips against her cheeks.

"Why don't we continue this back home?" he huskily breathed against her face, nuzzling his nose against hers.

"I'd love that," she whispered, kissing him deeply.

XXX

"He is so completely adorable!"

"I know!" Donna nodded her head in agreement. "He's just about the cutest baby I've ever seen."

"I would hope you'd think so," Wally interjected with a mouthful of pizza. "It's your sister's baby."

"Ok, so I'm a little partial to him," Donna shrugged. "Can you blame me? Besides, it's not like I get to see him that often. This is only the second time I've seen Nicholas since he was born."

"You're not a very good aunt, are you?" Wally frowned. "He's nine months old now."

"Flash!" Dick chided him from his seat on the couch…his very lonely seat on the couch.

Donna had been sitting next to him as they ate their pizza, but once Flash showed up with Nicholas both of the girls' attention had been solely on the baby. He cast a glance at Tim, sensing equal frustration from him as well as he sat all alone on his couch as well.

"What?" Flash looked up at Dick. "You should be objecting too. She's technically also your aunt, you know."

Dick froze with Wally's words, a fierce scowl suddenly clouding his face. "She's not technically my aunt," he ground out. "Diana and Donna aren't actually sisters."

"Aren't all the hot chicks on Themyscira sisters, Donna?" Wally asked, grabbing another three slices of pizza. "I thought all the Amazons were related."

Donna chuckled at the scarlet speedster, amazed by his ferocious appetite. "Most of us are sister in name only," she corrected him.

"See?" Dick practically hissed at Flash, leveling him with a deadly glare. "Besides, Diana was molded from clay, remember?"

"Oh yah," Flash slowly nodded his head, a grin slowly spreading across his masked face. "It's easy to forget that someone so gorgeous came from a lump of clay."

"But Nicholas is still my nephew to me," Donna added, her attention fully on the little boy sitting with her on the floor.

"You don't think that way about me, do you?" Dick demanded to know as he sat up straighter, his voice sounding far more panicked than he would've liked.

Donna laughed with Dick's question, leaning in to kiss Nicholas's cheek. "No, Dick," she replied, noting his alarm. "I don't think of you as my nephew."

Dick released the breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding as he sank back into the couch in relief, suddenly embarrassed by his reaction. He cleared his throat, attempting to sound a little calmer. "Good, but I sure don't think of you as my aunt."

"You're just a good friend," she added, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

Dick's scowl returned with a vengeance with her words. "So which movie would you like to watch first?" he asked, desperately needing to change the subject especially over the sound of Tim's snickering coming from the other couch.

"I don't care," Stephanie said over her shoulder, her focus still on Nicholas. "You are just too adorable. Yes you are, Nicholas."

Donna began tickling him, causing him to giggle uncontrollably. "I could just take you home with me," she told him, completely enthralled with the little boy. "Your mom and dad would kill me, though."

Tim and Dick both shot Wally a glare that spoke volumes of their helpless desperation, silently pleading for his assistance. Flash smirked at them, knowing what they were asking him to do. He quickly finished off his tenth piece of pizza before wiping his hands on his uniform pants.

"Alright, little man," Flash suddenly said as he stood to his feet. "Time to get you ready for bed."

"We can take him upstairs and do it," Donna quickly volunteered her and Stephanie.

"No, Bruce specifically wanted me to do it while they were away," Flash attempted to cover, taking the little boy into his arms. "You see Uncle Flash is his favorite out of all the superheroes."

"So why is he wearing Superman pj's?" Stephanie asked with a smirk.

"Because his Flash pajamas are in the wash," Flash snapped, racing from the room with the little boy before they could say any more.

Flash raced directly into the kitchen with Nicholas in tow, excited about the chance to babysit the little boy. He'd practically begged Bruce and Diana ever since he was born for the chance to babysit him, but Bruce had adamantly refused, shooting him down at every turn with a terrifying glare or a flat-out 'no' that always ended with a ferocious growl.

Now, there was absolutely nothing Bruce could do about it.

Whipping the refrigerator doors open, Flash feasted his eyes on the veritable buffet of food and goodies staring back at him. "What looks good to you, my little man?"

Nicholas patted Flash's cheek in an attempt to get his attention, babbling something or other at the scarlet speedster. Flash gave him a long look as he tried to decipher what the son of Bruce Wayne had just said to him, but came up empty.

"Sorry, partner," Wally shook his head. "I have no clue what you just said to me, but how about some ice cream? Every kid loves ice cream."

Flash quickly grabbed the container of chocolate ice cream from the freezer before finding a spoon and settling down at the kitchen table. As soon as Wally took the lid off the container, Nicholas had his little hands in the ice cream only to hold his chocolate covered fingers up for Flash to see.

"Whoa, little dude!" Wally exclaimed in shock as he quickly reached for a napkin. "You're faster than I am!"

After wiping his fingers off, Flash moved the container out of Nicholas's reach. "Ok, let's try this again," he said, taking a small spoonful of ice cream and giving the little boy a small taste.

He watched with amusement as Nicholas's eyes grew wide with excitement as the cold treat met his tongue, his little hands trying to reach for the container again. Flash laughed, taking a big spoonful for himself.

"I think we just found out your favorite treat," Flash grinned with pride.

After finally finishing off the pint of chocolate ice cream, Wally set Nicholas down on the floor as he took his spoon to the sink to rinse it off. Wondering to the refrigerator, he began to look for something else they could eat.

"So what else are you hungry for, little dude?" Flash asked as he perused the vast array of choices.

Looking around the open refrigerator door, Flash noticed that Nicholas wasn't on the floor where he had just put him down. "Hey, Nick!" Flash called. "Nick! Where'd you go?"

Flash quickly sprinted around the large kitchen, looking under the table and in the cupboards, anxiously searching for any signs of where Nicholas had gone to. He continually called his name only to receive complete silence.

"Oh crap…this is so not good," he sighed as he shot like a bullet from the kitchen.

XXX

Bruce went to the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water before settling down with his laptop at the kitchen table. To say that the evening had turned very erotic would have been the greatest understatement of the century.

After returning home, he and Diana had made love so passionate he swore he nearly blacked out from the intensity of his release. Every time he swore it couldn't get any better being with her, she somehow always managed to prove him wrong.

He had left her sleeping in order to come down and check on things with Barbara, hoping that she'd been able to find out something about Darren Strong. While he was thoroughly enjoying this time away with Diana, he couldn't fight the nagging tickle in the back of his brain telling him that Strong was bad news.

Starting up his laptop, his eyes fell on the manila folder that held the proposal that he had yet to review. He actually hadn't intended to bring it with him this weekend, wanting to review it once he'd returned home, but he had forgotten to take out of his briefcase when they'd left for the island.

Bruce began to peruse his emails, finding a couple from Barbara. He quickly read through them, frowning at the little information that she'd been able to find on the mysterious newcomer to Gotham.

It seemed that there was no trace of Darren Strong matching the date of birth or the information that Bruce did have on him past five years ago. He sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin in thought as he considered all of this.

He quickly sent Barbara an email, telling her to keep looking, using whatever measures she needed to in order to find out who he was and what this man was up to. Darren had shown far too much interest in Diana and his personal life when Bruce had met him and it rattled him to his core.

"What are you up to, Mr. Strong?" Bruce muttered softly under his breath, his narrowed gaze falling on the manila folder again.

Pulling it to him, he quickly opened it, taking the documents out to review them. He began to skim through them, trying to see what he could find out in the proposal that Strong had given him. It appeared to be a straightforward explanation of a new genetics program that Strong was interested in developing.

Intrigued, Bruce spent the next hour reading over the information that Darren had provided him, the fine hairs on the back of his neck rising. It was definitely a bold proposal and with some significant possibilities for profit, but there was something about it that troubled him. Unfortunately, he couldn't put his finger on it at that moment.

Bruce's cell phone suddenly vibrated on the table beside him, alerting him to the fact he had a message. Picking it up, he was stunned to find a text message from his wife. [Care to join me for a midnight swim?]

He smirked as he typed his response. [Depends on what you're wearing.]

[You'll have to come outside to find out.]

Bruce felt his groin suddenly twitch with her text, his entire body beginning to respond to her message. [Do I get a hint?]

[A lot less than my red bikini.]

A strangled groan lodged in his throat as he pictured his sexy wife nude in the water…with him. He suddenly wondered why he was inside the house when he could be out there in the water with her. He quickly set his phone down, making his way outside.

He paused as he stepped off of the back patio at the erotic sight that greeted him, his hands curling into fists at his sides as he attempted to control the sudden need pounding through him. He drank in the image of Diana standing nude in the water with her jet black hair cascading down her back. She was completely bathed in the radiance of the moonlight as the water lapped at her knees.

Removing his boxers, Bruce quickly made his way to her, more than anxious to be with his princess all over again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, starting out with some fun and ending with some heated romance. I couldn't help myself! **

**Special thanks to all the readers and guest readers who leave reviews! You guys rock! Thanks so much for the support and encouragement. It definitely keeps me writing and makes me love this fandom even more! :)**

**C****hapter 14**

"Nick!" Wally frantically called, doing his best to keep his voice low so as not to alert Tim and Dick to the fact that he had lost the baby. "Nick, come on buddy! Come to Uncle Flash!"

Wally swept through the Manor with his super speed, panic fueling his steps as he flew past the entertainment room, hoping to not be spotted. Unfortunately, luck was definitely not on the speedster's side tonight.

"Flash?" Dick yelled his name at the sight of a scarlet blur racing past the door. "What are you doing? What's going on?"

It only took a fraction of a second for the speedster to suddenly appear in the doorway again, an unreadable expression on his masked face. "Nothing…nothing at all," Wally replied just a little too quickly. "Why do you ask?"

Dick and Tim immediately sat up straight on the couch, both sensing trouble. "Where's Nicholas?" they both demanded in perfect unison, panic etched on their faces.

"He's…around," Flash ambiguously replied, shifting from one foot to the other as he silently prayed for the floor to just split open and swallow him whole at that moment.

"Flash!" Dick growled, jumping to his feet. "Where is Nicholas?"

"He's here in the Manor…somewhere," he defensively told them. "I'm just not quite sure where inside the Manor right now."

"What?" Tim yelled, leaping to his feet. "You lost my little brother?"

"Oh, poor Nicholas," Stephanie said from her perch on the couch.

"Flash, where is my nephew?" Donna demanded as well as she got to her feet, her blue eyes flashing with anger.

"How did you lose him?" Dick ground out, trying to keep his anger under control knowing that he could always kill Wally later after they had found Nicholas.

Wally began to rub the back of his neck, trying to think of an appropriate response that wouldn't get him maimed or killed. "Well, you see we went to the kitchen for a snack before bed and all I did was set him down for a just a second to see what else we could eat and well…I…I just looked in the refrigerator for only a moment and he was…"

"How long has he been missing?" Tim snapped.

"Not that long," Flash shrugged, swallowing hard as four angry sets of eyes glared at him. "Not quite an hour."

"What?" Dick yelled. This night was getting worse by the moment. "It's already way past his bedtime and now you've lost him?"

"We have to find him…now," Tim scowled, storming past Flash.

"I'll start in the kitchen since that's the last place you saw him," Dick told them, raking his fingers back through his hair. "You girls wait here in case he happens to crawl in here."

"I'm going to help find my nephew," Donna insisted, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"Fine, you help Tim look upstairs while Stephanie stays here," Dick reluctantly agreed.

"Bruce is so going to kill us," Tim groaned, rubbing his face with his hands.

"It's not Bruce that I'm worried about so much as I about Diana," Dick admitted. "She's going to flip out if she finds out about this."

Flash slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Dang it!" he exclaimed. "I didn't even think about Wondy! I was too worried about what Bats would do to me. Wondy could actually turn me into a human pretzel!"

"Diana's like a mother grizzly bear," Tim told him with a visible shudder. "You don't mess with her cub."

"I'm a dead man," Flash whined, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'm going to have to move out of the country…maybe even off the planet. I'll never get to see Linda again."

"Not yet you don't," Dick scowled at the speedster. "Let's just find him fast and hope that he's alright."

As Dick headed towards the kitchen, his cell phone suddenly went off. Digging it out of his pocket, he visibly blanched when he saw it was Diana calling. "Damn," he swore under his breath, gritting his teeth and drawing a deep breath before finally answering.

"Hey, Diana," Dick pleasantly answered, trying to sound as upbeat as possible as he paused right outside of the kitchen. "What's up?"

"It's Bruce and I'm just checking in," he replied in that familiar baritone rasp. "Is everything alright?"

"Yah, why wouldn't it be?" Dick asked, suddenly sounding a lot more defensive then he had intended to.

"Because I know you and Tim," Bruce said. "How's Nicholas?"

"Oh, he's…great…just great," Dick told him, forcing himself to sound calm. "He's been perfect all…"

Just then, a loud crash suddenly came from the kitchen, interrupting their conversation. "What was that?" Bruce demanded to know.

Dick raced into the kitchen to find Nicholas sitting on the floor amongst a pile of pots and pans that he had somehow managed to pull out of the cupboard. He gave Dick a toothy grin of pride with what he had just accomplished, drool dripping from his chin as he began to babble and giggle about the mess that he'd just made.

"Dick, what's going on? Is everything alright?"

"Yah…sure…um, Tim just dropped a pan is all," he tried to cover, beyond relieved to have found Nicholas.

Dick immediately went to his little brother, scooping him up with one arm, a loud clang filling the air as his boot met one of the pots lying on the ground. Nicholas giggled and gurgled as he tried to grab at Dick's phone, forcing him to hold the little boy out to his side and away from his phone.

"What is Nicholas still doing up?" Bruce growled. "It's almost midnight."

In the background, Dick could hear Diana worriedly asking about her son. "Nick is fine," Dick reassured him. "He was just hungry so we were getting him something to eat."

"Didn't you give him his bottle before bed?" Bruce asked, his voice beginning to lose a measure of the heat that it had just held.

"Who ate all of the ice cream?" Tim yelled asked as he entered the kitchen, his eyes falling on the empty container on the table.

Dick whirled on his heel, glaring heatedly at his brother as he held up his phone in one hand and Nicholas with the other. Tim instantly froze in his tracks, his stomach stopping into his shoes and eyes going wide with realization.

"Oh crap," Tim muttered.

"You didn't feed Nicholas ice cream did you?" Bruce asked.

"What? No, of course not," Dick responded, sighing heavily as he leaned against the countertop. "It must have been Alfred."

"Good because it'll upset his stomach," Bruce informed him. "Nicholas gets bad diarrhea when he has anything with milk in it."

Dick's head snapped up as a very unpleasant smell suddenly hit his nose, causing him to straighten up. He frowned at the horrible smell coming from the little boy wiggling in his arms.

"Dada," Nicholas called out, hearing Bruce's voice over the phone. "Dada…dada…"

Dick held up the phone for Nicholas to talk to Bruce, the awful smell coming from his brother's diaper making his eyes begin to water and his nose burn. "Say hi to Daddy," Dick finally managed to get out, swallowing back the bile that had risen in the back of his throat.

"Dada…dada…" Nicholas excitedly chattered away, his drool getting on Dick's cell phone.

"Hi there, little man," Bruce grinned at the sound of his son's voice. "Be good for your brothers. Mommy and I will see you tomorrow."

Dick quickly wiped his phone off on his jeans before putting it to his ear again. "So you'll be back tomorrow then?"

"Yes, before dinner," Bruce told him. "I have some things to do before going out tomorrow night and I want to spend some time with Nicholas."

"Okay, have a great time," Dick quickly said, more than ready to end this phone call. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Flash raced into the kitchen at that moment, leaning over and placing his hands on his thighs in an attempt to catch his breath. "I can't…find Nick…anywhere…" he said, straightening up as his expression morphed from one of sheer panic to one of absolute revulsion. "Whoa! Dude, what's that horrible smell?"

As if on cue, Nicholas began to babble away, kicking his feet excitedly at the sight of the scarlet speedster. "Take one guess," Dick angrily stated, holding Nicholas out before him. "Someone decided it was a good idea to feed him chocolate ice cream."

"Who knew that such a disgusting smell could come from such a small body," Wally groused pinching his nose.

"Well, since you decided to feed him ice cream, you get to be the one to clean him up," Dick bit out.

"And who gets to clean up that?" Tim asked, pointing to the other side of the island that sat in the middle of the kitchen.

Turning, Dick looked over the center island, groaning at the sight of flour and sugar all over the floor. "How in the world did he get into the pantry?" Dick cried, hanging his head in absolute defeat.

"It must be his new super power," Flash chuckled. "Super messes!"

Dick and Tim both shot angry glares at the speedster, more than ready for this night to finally be over. "Here, take him and get him cleaned up and into bed," Dick ordered him. "He should've been in bed hours ago. Tim and I will clean this mess up."

"This night had been a complete disaster," Tim frowned as Wally took Nicholas, holding him out away from his body, his head turned to the side.

"You reek, little dude!" Flash gagged, his tongue sticking out in disgust as he turned to leave. "Let's go get you a clean diaper and some new pj's."

"And don't lose him this time!" Dick yelled as Flash left the kitchen.

"Yah, yah…I know…I know," Wally scowled, already feeling guilty for losing Nicholas in the first place as it was without being talked to like some idiot. Bruce and Diana were never going to let him babysit now.

"You know it's not really his fault," Tim said as he went into the back only to reappear a few moments later with a broom and dustpan in hand. "It could have happened to any one of us and he didn't know that Nick couldn't have ice cream."

"I know," Dick sighed heavily as he began stacking pots and pans back inside the cupboard. "It's just that Bruce could not have picked a worse possible time to call and check in on things. I could practically feel his bat glare through the phone."

"The look of pure horror on your face was priceless," Tim began to laugh.

Dick paused what he was doing to glare at his brother. "The next time Nicholas comes up missing when Bruce and Diana are gone, I hope they call you instead of me," he replied. "See how you like being on that hot seat."

"I doubt we'll ever be trusted to babysit him every again," Tim rolled his eyes, disappointed with the thought. "Remember the bathroom upstairs that still needs to be cleaned? We'll never get rid of all of those bubbles."

Dick sat back on his heels, his chin falling to his chest in mounting frustration. Who knew that a nine month old could be so much work? "How do parents do this all the time?"

"I'm beginning to think that Nicholas's super abilities are beginning to surface," Tim thoughtfully said, not even hearing what Dick had just said. "Who else could pull out the flour and sugar from the pantry and not get any of it on himself? That has to be super power of some kind."

"What? You think he can do magic now?" Dick frowned at the thought.

"No, not magic, but something is definitely going on," Tim shook his head. "How could one little guy get himself and us into so much trouble so fast? To just disappear like that is pretty incredible."

"Maybe," Dick muttered. "But he just had a check up with J'onn and he said everything was normal."

"You know how quickly things can change."

The sudden sound of the garage door opening caused both boys to freeze instantaneously. Just when they thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, they were proven so very wrong.

XXX

They were semi-reclined in one of the lounge chairs, curled up together and cocooned in a blanket, their bodies melded and limbs tangled. They were still damp from skinny dipping in the ocean, but they were beyond content just to lie here enjoying the feel of one another, the scent of salt water clinging to their skin.

The steady sound of Bruce's heartbeat beneath Diana's ear was warming her through and through as she softly caressed his chest, absentmindedly tracing each and every scar as if her touch could ever truly erase them. If she had her way, they would stay just like this forever.

"So what's going on at home?" Diana asked with a sigh of contentment as she snuggled even deeper into her husband's hold on her.

"Trouble," he replied more calmly than she had expected him to especially knowing that Tim and Dick here home alone with Nicholas.

"What?" she tried to sit up, suddenly worried by his response only to be swiftly pulled back against him and into his warm embrace, keeping her where he wanted her. "Are they alright?"

Bruce smirked, his fingers playing with her wet hair and relishing the feel of her gorgeous body touching every single inch of his. "They're fine," he reassured her. "I think Nicholas is giving them fits, though."

"Not our son?" she chuckled softly. "Is he alright?"

"He's fine," he grinned.

Diana smiled as well, tilting her head to press her lips against his chest. "I can tell you talked to Nicholas by the look you get on your face."

"What kind of look?"

"You get this look of pure happiness that makes your entire face glow with pride," she told him. "It's really cute."

"Batman is not cute," he bit out, feigning indignation with her observation. "Besides, I can't help it. It just amazes me what you and I made together. He's truly a little miracle."

"He is pretty incredible, isn't he?" she beamed. "I love seeing you and me in our son."

"Even his stubbornness you swear he got from me even though he really got it from you?"

Diana couldn't suppress the smile on her face, pressing her face into his chest. "Yes, even that," reluctantly admitted. "I hope he grows up to look just like you. Of course, then we'll have girls lining up at our door wanting to date him."

"Good heavens," Bruce groaned at the thought. "He just turned nine months old and you've already got him dating girls. I haven't even adjusted to the fact that's crawling now. I don't know how I'm going to handle much more."

Diana laughed some throaty and seductive sound that shot like fire through Bruce's veins straight to his core. He loved her laugh, her smile. He had made it his sworn duty long ago to make sure that that beautiful smile was always on her lips no matter what it took.

"You're doing just fine, Bruce," she reassured him, kissing his neck. "You're the amazing father that I always knew that you would be."

"You're pretty incredible yourself, Princess," he murmured, tilting to kiss the top of her head.

"So are you going to tell me why this Darren Strong as you staying up at night or do I have to keep guessing?" she asked, her fingers continuing their leisurely exploration over his chest.

Bruce chuckled softly with her question, causing them both to shake with the movement. "I believe I already tried on the jet, but you fell asleep on me, remember?"

"I heard most of it," she gently swatted his chest. "I could also tell there was something more that you weren't telling me even then. You aren't the only one who can read people."

Bruce smiled to himself with her response, his hand roaming over the smooth expanse of skin on her back, his fingers running lightly over her ribs and feeling her squirm against him as he tickled her. He didn't think he could possibly find her more adorable than he already did.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he stoically said, keeping his voice even, closing his eyes as he began to lose himself to the feel of her touch on his chest.

"Bruce, a new entrepreneur in Gotham wouldn't have you up in the middle of the night unless something was going on," she pointed out to him.

"I just want to make sure that he's not up to anything illegal especially seeing how he wants to partner with Wayne Enterprises on a project," he told her, leaving out the rest. He didn't want to upset her at least until he knew more about what was really going on.

"And?"

"And what?"

"I can tell there's more that you're not telling me," she replied as she began kissing his scars, his chest rising and falling a little more quickly with the feel of her lips slowly sensually brushing against his skin, her tongue sneaking out to taste him as well.

"I don't think you are one to be talking about keeping secrets, Princess," he reminded her.

Diana suddenly paused momentarily in her tortuous assault, feeling guilty once more for not telling him about the baby yet. She was still trying to adjust to the fact they were having a baby girl herself, one that was blessed by Aphrodite of all goddesses.

Bruce was going to have a heart attack or a nervous breakdown when she finally told him.

"I have a very good reason for waiting to tell you my secret," she coyly replied between kisses.

"Maybe I have a good reason for not telling you mine," he breathed heavily at the feel of her hot mouth on his skin as he threaded his fingers through her wet hair. It was growing more and more difficult to connect his thoughts as lust flooded his mind and body.

"But my secret is a good secret," she whispered against his chest.

"That remains to be seen, Princess," he huskily said, pulling her up so he could kiss her.

"You're so paranoid," she murmured against his lips.

"Am not," he growled.

She smiled as he kissed her again, but the suddenly building intensity of their passion quickly erased it as she shifted over to straddle him, the blanket falling away from their bodies and fully revealing her nude form to him. She moaned as his tongue tangled with hers, each vying for control as she settled against him.

"You are insatiable," Bruce smirked as his hands moved to grip her hips, loving the feel of his wife hovering above him like this.

"Are you complaining, Mr. Wayne?" she asked as she kissed and nipped along his jaw line.

"N…no…" he groaned.

"Because I can stop if you want…" she teased as she began to move off of him.

Bruce swiftly grabbed hold of her, keeping her on top of him right where he wanted her. "Hell no," he practically growled, his grip tightening even further on her waist.

"And I'm the insatiable one?" she grinned wickedly at him, wiggling her hips and earning a moan from her husband.

"Alright, I admit it…I'm addicted to you, ok?" he managed to get out as she rubbed herself against him, his desire quickly building once more. "I can't get enough of you…can't stop thinking about you…"

Diana smirked as she kissed along his shoulder, her fingernails lightly scratching over the muscular contours of his chest. "That's good," she purred, her tongue slipping out to trace his collarbone, "because I'm pretty crazy about you, too."

Bruce's chuckle of amusement turned into a gasping moan of searing pleasure as she suddenly paused to suck hard on his skin at the same time that she shifted her hips to take him fully inside of her in one swift fluid movement.

She could feel the intense hammering of his heart beneath the palms of her hands resting against his chest as she began to move. She set a slow tortuous pace that already had him panting and pleading for salvation and she was just getting started with her plans to torment him.

His fingers dug deep into her hips, trying to force her to move faster, but she was far stronger than him and refused to succumb to his demands for more. She kept her hips moving in a leisurely steady rhythm as she kissed every part of him she could reach from her position on top of him.

Diana smiled knowingly, leaning in to brush soft butterfly kisses across his forehead, each eyelid, his nose and along each cheekbone in a loving worshipful display. Her wet raven hair repeatedly brushed against his skin, causing shivers to race through him as they made love.

Instead of calming him with her kisses, she only seemed to be heating his blood even further with the love that she was showing him. He began to move his hips more and more, doing everything in his power to get her to move faster, anything to provide the release that he was in such desperate need of.

"Princess…please…" he gasped sharply, perspiration breaking out over his tanned skin, his body so taut with the intense pleasure pounding through him fighting for a release she refused to allow him to have.

"Please what, my Bruce?" she sweetly asked, her sultry question and warm breath tickling his ear.

The sound of his name on her lips when they made love always managed to turn him on even more, causing his desperation to suddenly spike sharply within him. "Please…let me…let me…"

"I don't know," she breathlessly teased him, constricting her inner walls around him and causing him to swear under his breath. "You know how much I love having all of the control, but I guess if you insist…"

Bruce released a ragged breath of relief in sweet anticipation of finding completion within her as she began to increase the tempo. His hand settled on the back of her neck before pulling her into a rough kiss as his other hand stroked her thigh.

"Bruce…" Diana moaned as she gripped at his shoulders.

Her entire body was on fire, every nerve ending responding to him as he finally took over, holding her down and pumping into her with all that he had. He knew he was almost punishing in his deep penetrating strokes, but he could hold back no longer, his body moving of its own accord now as he poured every bit of his love into her.

"Hera! Bruce…I love you…" she breathlessly chanted over and over again, her head thrown back in rapture.

The moonlight behind her created an ethereal glow around her goddess-like body, driving his thrusts even harder. His heart was about to burst from his chest as he finally emptied himself deep inside of her, slumping back against the chair as she came as well with a scream of his name.

Boneless with the euphoria thrumming wildly through her body, Diana collapsed against him, pressing soft kisses to his moist skin as he tenderly rubbed her back. "I think…you're secretly…trying to kill me off," he breathed hard, fighting to regain his senses.

"You love it and you know it," she replied, her lips curling against his throat as her fingers worked their way up into his damp hair.

"Maybe a little, but I love you more," he said as he pulled her into a heated kiss, never wanting to ever let her go.


	15. Chapter 15

**SO SORRY for the long delay! RL has been trying to keep me from my writing, but things should be slowing down here soon. **

**Also, please don't hate me or start throwing rocks at me when you get to the end of this update. I PROMISE all will be revealed in the next chapter so hang tight! Hope you enjoy the update! :)**

**Chapter 15**

Five days.

They had been home from their romantic getaway in the Caribbean for five whole days and she had yet been able to tell him about the baby they were going to be having. Every time she prepared herself to make the big reveal, there was always something that came up.

First, it was coming home to discover that Flash had lost Nicholas only to find him later making quite the mess in the kitchen. To say that Bruce had been irked would have been an understatement of grand proportions. He had summarily grounded Flash from coming near the Manor for a whole year, but after some pleading and coaxing on her part, Diana had managed to get Wally's sentence reduced to only a month.

Then, there had been another dead body the next night while on patrol in Gotham just like the previous two murders that had captured Bruce's attention, keeping her husband up all night. Since then, he'd been steadily growing more and more consumed with the case and the unsolved murders, researching every avenue in an effort to find the link between them all.

On top of that, there was also his mounting obsession with Darren Strong. There was something about the man that had captured Bruce's interest and dislike, but Diana was still oblivious to what it was about him that had sparked her husband's detestation.

Whatever it was, Bruce refused to even discuss it, always changing the subject or diverting her attention, coming up with some vague excuse that left her feeling as though there was something more going on than he was willing to admit to.

Much to her disappointment, Bruce had also been quite distant since returning home from their anniversary getaway weekend. It had been beyond amazing to say the least, so intensely intimate and passionate, connecting them on an even deeper level than ever before.

Now, he barely kissed her and it was driving her absolutely mad. It was like he was giving her the cold shoulder on purpose, making her wonder if he had somehow figured out that she was pregnant. Maybe he wasn't happy with the idea of having another baby so soon after Nicholas especially now that their son was crawling all over the place, possibly exhibiting new super powers.

Diana bit her bottom lip as she sat before the bank of computer screens in the monitor womb, wondering if he was upset with her for being pregnant again. Of course, it wasn't like it was entirely her fault by any means. He had been more than a willing participant, usually the one initiating it…but not always.

And it wasn't like it was her fault that Aphrodite decided to show special interest in their unborn daughter. Diana hadn't even known that she was pregnant until her mother had suddenly shown up at the Manor with the unexpected news last week.

Slumping back in the chair as she folded her arms against her chest, Diana began to wonder if maybe she could ask her mother to petition Aphrodite to remove her blessing somehow. It was very dangerous and most unpredictable to petition a god or goddess to remove something like a special blessing. It could be seen as a terrible insult to make such a request. She wasn't certain if it was worth taking the risk.

The doors to the monitor womb suddenly swooshed open, interrupting Diana's thoughts. "Hey, Di," Shayera greeted her, making her way to the desk. "Anything going on?"

"It was crazy at the beginning of my shift, but things have quieted down again in the last hour," she replied, a frown fixed on her face.

"What's wrong?" Shayera asked, noticing the distraction in the Amazon Princess. "Have you told Bruce the news yet?"

"No, I haven't had a chance," Diana shook her head. "Since we returned Sunday afternoon, he's been busy."

"Day job or night job?"

"Both," the Princess sighed heavily, her blue eyed gaze fixed on the monitors before her as she worked to sort out what was happening with her husband lately. "There's something going on. I know he's up to something, but I don't know what."

"What makes you say that?"

"He's been distracted for one thing and every time I try to kiss him, he pulls away and tells me that he has to go someplace or he's busy," Diana informed her friend.

"You said you had a great weekend together," Shayera replied, leaning back against the desk to face her teammate. "Maybe he's just feeling guilty for being gone for three days and is trying to make up for it."

"Maybe," she murmured thoughtfully, her fingernails drumming lightly on the desk before her. "It just seems like there's more to it than just that."

"You don't think he's figured out your pregnant, do you?"

"Shhh…keep your voice down!" Diana scowled. "I don't want anyone hearing it before Bruce finds out."

"Sorry," Shayera muttered. "So do you think he figured it out?"

"I don't know," she sighed heavily, leaning back in the chair to stare at the ceiling above. "We have a gala benefit tonight that we have to go to supporting the Gotham orphanage. I'll get to spend some time with him then. I'm hoping I can spring the surprise on him then."

"Well then, what are you so worried about?"

Diana sat up to glare at her winged friend. "You still do remember the part about Aphrodite's added blessing and the fact that I'm married to the neurotic Bruce Wayne, right?"

"Yes, but you're going to have to tell him sooner than later or he's going to figure it out when you start throwing up every ten minutes again."

Diana groaned as she tilted her head back once more in defeat. "Don't remind me," she nearly cried. "That was the part of all this that I'm not looking forward to experiencing again."

"Have you been having any signs of morning sickness yet?"

"Not yet, but it'll be coming any day now," she admitted, her hand subconsciously falling to her abdomen. "I'm already getting tearful over the silliest things."

Shayera started to laugh. "I remember those days. Poor John didn't know whether to hug me or lock himself away in a protective bubble," she grinned. "I'd be crying one moment and throwing things the next."

"It was never that bad when I was pregnant with Nicholas," Diana smiled, picturing poor John trying to duck for cover from a hormonally imbalanced pregnant Thanagarian.

"Don't worry about it, Di," Shayera reassured her. "I think our plan will work. Just give him the gift, let him get all excited about the news, and then drop the Aphrodite bomb on him. Hopefully, he'll still be too giddy with excitement about having a daughter that he'll miss the last part about the blessing."

"Or I can just skip telling him about the blessing altogether," Diana suggested, her face suddenly brightening with the thought.

"You do remember you're married to the world's greatest detective, right?" Shayera reminded her. "He'll figure it out one way or another especially when guys are lined up down the road to date his daughter so it's best just to tell him and try to deal with it together."

Diana threw herself forward, burying her face in her arms now resting on the desk. "I'm in so much trouble, Shay," she moaned, her voice muffled. "If we survive this, we are done having children. I don't think I could handle going through this again. What if Zeus decides to take interest in our next child? My baby could be born with a bolt of lightning in his hand."

Shayera did her best to stifle the giggle that rose up in her throat, but failed miserably. Diana's head shot up from the desk, a withering Amazon glare boring into her.

"It's not funny, Shayera!" Diana yelled.

"No!" she laughed. "It sounds horribly painful."

"Bruce is already worried about the gods interfering in our lives and this is just going to prove him right," the Princess glared at her friend, folding her arms against her chest. "I'm never going to hear the end of it."

"Have you thought about praying to Aphrodite to see if she could…I don't know…reverse the blessing or decrease its potency somehow?" Shayera suggested.

"Decrease its potency?" Diana scowled at her. "It's not some magical spell, Shay. It's a blessing. It either is or it isn't."

"Well, I don't know about these things," Hawkgirl threw up her hands in frustration. "Just tell Bruce tonight after your gala event. He's going to love the gift you got him and he's going to love this baby no matter what because he loves you."

Diana released a ragged breath as she slowly nodded her head. "You're right," she finally agreed. "I've faced Darkseide, Lex Luthor, and Hades himself. I can handle telling Bruce about this."

"Let me know how it goes," Shayera told her, squeezing her shoulder on her way by. "Or let me know where to send flowers when Bruce drops dead from a massive heart attack."

"Shayera!" Diana cried, her head whipping around to glare at the Thanagarian.

"I'm just kidding," Hawkgirl chuckled. "It's going to be fine…really."

Diana settled back in her chair, drawing a deep breath in a futile effort to calm her frazzled nerves. She'd already gotten a new gown especially for tonight's event, wanting to capture Bruce's attention and maybe get him to actually kiss her again…and hopefully very much more if she was really lucky.

It had only been five days since they'd last been together, but her hormones were already beginning to drive her positively crazy. She swore if she and Bruce didn't make love soon she'd lose her mind and that was definitely not going to be good for the baby.

She didn't know for certain if Bruce's evasiveness was intentional in order to drive her wild in payback for slipping her panties into his utility belt or just a result of being back in Gotham, but one thing was for certain – she was going to get her husband tonight one way or another.

XXX

Bruce sat on the couch waiting for Diana with Nicholas in his lap, doing his best to keep his son's drool from getting on his expensive tux. It wouldn't do for Bruce Wayne to show up at a classy charity benefit in a tux with nice coating of slobber all over it.

He bounced Nicholas on his thighs, amazed at the miracle that he and his princess had created. He had never dreamed that being a husband and a father could make him this happy. Staring at his son, he suddenly found himself wishing that Diana was pregnant again, another little life growing within her.

As often as they had made love this past weekend, it would be next to impossible for her not to be pregnant with his child.

He smirked as thoughts of being with her swiftly rose to the forefront of his mind. It had been incredible in every way imaginable, passionate and romantic just like he'd hoped it would be for her. He could hardly wait to take her back there again and do it all over again.

Unfortunately, real life was once more taking over, monopolizing his time and keeping him away from home. He was, however, using this opportunity to extract some much needed revenge on his wife by giving her the cold shoulder.

He had found it more than difficult feigning a lack of interest in his gorgeous wife, pretending to be too tired to make love to her or far too busy to even kiss her.

He could see his plan was beginning to have its desired effect. Diana was growing more irritable with every passing day, her frustration nearly palpable. There were a couple of times that he found her staring intently at him like a ravenous lioness, making him think that she was actually going to attack him, pinning him against the wall and having her way with him.

Bruce suddenly froze, the highly erotic thought making him suddenly wish that she would do it. He was beginning to wonder who was being tormented more now – him or her.

He didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to keep this up. He was being forced to take more and more cold showers in order to survive this distance he was putting between them, but he was determined to get his revenge one way or another. He never backed down from a battle especially against his wife.

Diana should've known better than to try to take on the Dark Knight.

"Dada," Nicholas babbled, grabbing at his father's nose.

Smiling with great pride, Bruce held Nicholas out before him, studying his face and seeing so much of Diana in him. It warmed him clear to his toes. They definitely needed to have another one.

"Nice monkey suit."

Bruce looked past Nicholas to find Tim leaning against the doorframe munching on an apple, a grin on his face. "Are you sure I can trust you to watch Nicholas tonight or should I just call in the entire Justice League to help you?"

His surrogate father's eyes were full of amusement despite the thick sarcasm that pervaded his voice. "Funny," Tim frowned. "How many times do I have to tell you it wasn't our fault?"

"You handed my infant son over to Flash to watch," Bruce shot back, his baritone rasp emphasizing each and every word to make sure it truly had sunk in. "What part of that does not sound like an accident waiting to happen?"

"I don't know how many more times I can say I'm sorry," Tim rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Between you and Alfred, Dick and I are never going to be able to live this one down. Alfred still visibly cringes every time I walk into the kitchen."

Bruce bit back a smirk as he studied his middle son, unable to keep from getting another dig in. "By the way, I installed soap and shampoo dispensers in Nick's bathroom so we don't have a repeat of your last performance next time you give him his bath."

A frustrated huff of annoyance filled the air as Bruce stood to his feet with Nicholas. He kissed his son on the forehead only to have Nicholas swiftly reach in and grab hold of his bowtie, pulling it free with a satisfied giggle.

"I told you he was fast, but you wouldn't believe me," Tim laughed as he took Nicholas from Bruce. "Help you big brother out and show your dad what you can do, little bat."

"Hey, my little warrior," Diana suddenly cooed as she entered the room, leaning over and kissing Nicholas on the cheek. "Are you going to be good for Tim tonight?"

Nicholas squealed at the sight of his mother, but Bruce barely registered a single word that his wife had just said, his hungry gaze roaming over her perfection. She was wearing a beautiful one shoulder champagne colored gown with a slit up the leg that Bruce swore ended at her hip. Her raven hair was pulled up into a simple twist with soft curls framing her face.

He didn't think that she could possibly look any more breath-taking than she did at that moment. It was making his little game of aloofness towards her damn near impossible to continue.

"Bruce, close your mouth or you'll start drooling like Nicholas," Tim leaned over and said under his breath to his father.

Diana flashed him a brilliant smile that momentarily made Bruce forget his own name. She had gone the extra mile tonight, making sure that she looked her absolute best just for him. If this didn't get him excited, she was going to have to use bodily harm and force him to make love to her.

Her hormones were raging through her body and if she didn't get him soon, she was going to start climbing the walls…or knocking them all down.

"Are we ready to go?" she sweetly asked, noting that her husband seemed to be somewhat tongue-tied at the moment.

She slowly made her way towards him; coming to a stop very close to him and allowing her proximity to eat away at his steel-like resolve. "Here, let me help you," she softly said.

Bruce forgot how to breathe as she worked on his bowtie for him; her luscious body not nearly close enough to him despite standing toe to toe with her. Her intoxicating scent was making his head spin, his eyes falling to her red lips that were practically begging to be kissed.

He quickly began running through every single mental exercise he could think of to keep from ripping that dress off of her and taking her right there. This was going to be a very long night, one that would prove more tortuous for him than her.

Diana finally looked up, meeting his gaze with a smile. His face was completely emotionless, revealing absolutely nothing with his tightly set jaw, his unflinching façade. She felt her stomach drop, disappointment welling in her chest. Maybe he hadn't liked her new dress after all.

She thought for sure her new gown would have done the trick tonight, but he obviously didn't like it. "I guess we better go," she softly said, turning away from him, revealing her nearly bare back to him and causing Bruce to almost swallow his tongue.

He noticed the way her face had fallen in disappointment at his lack of response and quickly reached out, grabbing hold of her hand. She turned around to face him, expectant hope veiling her face as she stared at him. He wanted to mess with her for trying to toy with him like she had, not completely crush her spirit. He loved her too much to hurt her like that.

"You look beautiful tonight," he told her as they made their way to the front door and the limo that waiting for them outside.

Diana smiled brightly with his compliment, thrilled that her plan was beginning to work so far. Unfortunately, her nerves were running rampant knowing that in a little bit Bruce would know about the baby girl she carried within her as well as the special blessing from Aphrodite. She suddenly felt very nauseous.

"Bye, Tim," Bruce called out. "Don't lose Nicholas."

"I won't!" Tim yelled back, his aggravation evident in his voice. "Now leave already!"

Bruce chuckled softly with his son's annoyed response, closing the door behind him while seriously hoping nothing went wrong tonight.

XXX

Diana fidgeted nervously with her gown, glancing up to catch Alfred looking knowingly at her in the rearview mirror of the limo. His eyes were silently encouraging her to tell him while at the same time reassuring her that everything would be alright.

She had confided in Alfred this afternoon, telling him about the baby and her fears about Bruce's reaction to the blessing. He had been ecstatic to say the least with the news of a new baby in the Manor, almost beside himself with excitement.

He had reassured her that Bruce would be able to handle the news and helped her plan out everything for this evening, even slipping a bottle of sparkling grape juice in the limo for them to celebrate the news later. Now, she just needed to find the nerve to tell him.

Bruce glanced up from his phone to his princess who was fidgeting with the skirt of her dress and revealing even more of her gorgeous long legs to him. It was only serving to further heighten the arousal that was already teeming inside of him, making it impossible to think straight with the lust pumping through him.

Just as he began to reach for the button that would close the dividing window between them allowing him some privacy with his wife, their little war be damned, Alfred suddenly cleared his throat before speaking up and causing him to stop.

"Miss Diana," Alfred said. "How have you been feeling today?"

Diana looked up at Alfred in stunned surprise, her panicked face swiftly turning to look at Bruce who was now frowning at her, his blue eyes suddenly filled with concern. "What's wrong?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Nothing…just a little tired," she replied, catching sight of a disapproving look from Alfred in the rearview mirror.

"You look a little pale," Bruce said, his hand coming to rest against her cheek. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine…really," she smiled.

"We don't have to go tonight if you're not feeling well, Princess," he told her, his hand falling from her cheek to take her hand in his.

"Bruce, the Wayne Foundation is funding tonight's event for the new orphanage," she reminded him. "We have to go."

"I'm a billionaire," he reminded her with a playful smirk. "I don't have to do anything that I don't want to do."

"No, I really want to go," she insisted. "Besides, I want to spend the evening with my handsome husband."

Diana leaned in and kissed him in an attempt to reassure him or distract him – whichever would shift the attention off of her. Unfortunately, kissing him only seemed to heat her blood all the more, making it more than difficult to stop. It had definitely been far too long.

Retreating, Diana shifted back in her seat. "See? I'm fine," she smiled.

"You know you promised to tell me your secret when we returned and I have yet to hear anything," Bruce pointed out, appraising her with that intent scrutinizing gaze of his as he tried to decide if she was telling him the truth or not about how she felt.

"It's not like you've really been around this last week," she replied, her tone a little sharper than she had intended as she averted her gaze.

"You know that there are times when I can't always be around, Princess," he reminded her. "If I had my way, I'd never leave your side."

Diana sighed heavily in obvious frustration, knowing she needed to do this. "I know," she said, leaning to her right and taking a neatly wrapped box out from a hidden compartment in the limo. "I suppose I can give you your anniversary gift now that I finally have you to myself. I've been trying to give it to you all week, but there was always something coming up."

Bruce took the small box wrapped in shiny silver wrapping paper, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His mind was already working at trying to figure out what it could be as he studied it. "Does this have something to do with your secret?" he asked hopefully.

Diana bit her bottom lip, nodding her head and holding her breath as he stared at her. Just as Bruce was about to pull the silver ribbon free, his cell phone suddenly went off interrupting the special moment. Alfred softly groaned, shaking his head in frustration with the interruption.

These two were going to be the death of him. He'd already been driving as slow as he could, trying to buy them more time, but the Princess hadn't been able to gather the courage to give Bruce the gift until they were almost to the hotel.

Diana's shoulders slumped as Bruce set the small box on the seat beside him. "Melanie, what can I do for you? Really? Well, it looks like we're just pulling up to the hotel now. I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I'll see what I can do to smooth things over for you."

Bruce hung up, slipping his phone into his jacket pocket. "Sorry, Princess," he apologized. "I have to get inside right away and try to calm down Phillip Scholl. He's throwing a fit about not getting an invitation to the benefit tonight. Somehow it got misplaced or lost."

Opening the door, Bruce climbed out of the limo to the sudden flashing of hundreds of cameras as he turned and offered his hand to a very irritated Amazon who was beyond frustrated in more ways than just one now.

This was going to be a very, very long night.


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok, since I made you all wait forever for this moment, I made this chapter extra long. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you all for your patience and hanging with me! :)**

**Chapter 16**

Tim sat in the rocking chair of Nicholas's room, feeding his brother his bedtime bottle as he checked his text messages on his cell phone. He was quite proud of himself with how well the evening had gone so far. No incidents whatsoever.

He hadn't let Nicholas out of his sight all evening, either playing on the floor with him or holding him in his lap. He was not about to take any chances this time and he was more than happy that Nick's bath had been very uneventful except for the fact that his little brother had splashed him with the bath water.

Nicholas had been the perfect baby like always, not giving him one ounce of trouble all night. He'd also been thankfully feeling better now that a couple of teeth had finally broken through a few days ago, his lingering fever breaking.

Nicholas lay in his brother's arms holding his bottle, sucking it down as he stared intently at Tim with those blue eyes that were so much like his father's. He kicked his little legs trapped in his onesie, his hand reaching up to grab at Tim's cell phone.

"No way, little drool bug," Tim smiled down at his brother, pulling his cell phone out of his reach. "When you're older you can have one of your own, but this one is mine. Besides, I saw how you drooled all over Dick's cell phone."

"Mm…Mm…" he jabbered between gulps of formula, his hand patting the large wet spot on Tim's shirt that he had created as if proud of what he'd accomplished.

"Yes, little bat?" Tim absentmindedly murmured, his brow knitted in concentration, completely absorbed in a text message that he'd just received from Stephanie.

They were hammering out the details for their date tomorrow night, one that did not include babysitting his baby brother. He grinned at her text message and quickly entered his reply, more than relieved that she'd agreed to let him take her out on a real date.

Hitting the send button, Tim noticed that Nicholas was done with his bottle already. "Wow, Nick," Tim exclaimed. "I think your super power is speed eating. You should be in competition with Flash."

Setting his phone down on the night stand beside the rocking chair, he got up from the chair, setting Nicholas down in his crib where he couldn't get away from him. "Now, stay put, little bat," Tim told him. "No escaping. You got us in enough trouble the last time."

Nicholas sat in his crib looking up at his brother with a purely innocent expression on his little face, his look saying "Who? Me?". Tim couldn't help but grin at him, reaching down to ruffle his short jet black hair. He was beyond adorable. No one would guess how much trouble he could actually get himself into.

Turning, Tim took the empty bottle into the bathroom to rinse it out, picking up the discarded wet towel from Nicholas's bath and tossing it into the hamper. Reentering the nursery, he paused by the rocking chair to pick up Nicholas's favorite blue blanket before taking it to him.

Tim suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as he stared at the crib, his head whipping to his left to look at the nightstand table. His cell phone was in Nicholas's hands, a huge grin lighting his little face as he held it up to his brother like a prize that he'd just won.

"Mm…Mm…" Nicholas excitedly said.

"What the…" Tim gaped in shock as he stared at his baby brother. "How in the world did you get my phone?"

Nicholas babbled on, happily telling his tale that no one but him could possibly understand. Tim quickly went to the crib, taking his phone back and wiping the drool off before checking it to find that Nick had somehow managed to send a text message to Stephanie consisting of nothing but various letters, numbers, and symbols.

"Bro, you're like a little Houdini," Tim told him as he slipped his phone into his jeans pocket, tucking him into his crib with his blanket. "Now go to sleep and no more tricks."

Nicholas looked up at his older brother with a curious expression as Tim leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Sleep tight," he smiled at him with great affection. "I love you, little bat."

"Mm…Mm…" Nicholas sleepily mumbled his brother's name, his eyelids getting heavier by the moment.

Tim silently made his way to the door, pausing to turn the light off, making sure that Nicholas's Green Lantern night light was on for him. He couldn't help but shake his head in wonder as he left, closing the door behind him.

Taking his phone back out, he looked down at the reply message from Stephanie asking what the last text message had meant. He could only laugh as he made his way back downstairs with the baby monitor in hand, trying to figure out how to explain what had just happened when he still wasn't quite sure himself.

XXX

Diana kept a smile on her face despite the growing agitation that continually simmered inside of her. Her hormones were wreaking havoc with her emotions, adding to the frustration that she already felt because of the interruption in the limo that had kept Bruce from opening the gift she had given him.

She politely declined a glass of champagne from a cocktail waitress while at the same time trying to locate her husband among the mingling prominent philanthropists and socialites of Gotham. Even though they had entered together, she had quickly lost him to Melanie the event planner for the gala and had barely seen him since.

She hated these events almost as much as Bruce did, detested the pretentiousness of it all. So few of the people who attended these events ever allowed their true intentions to show through, always putting on a façade of generosity and true concern when all they really cared about was making themselves look good.

They were always putting on airs and talking only to hear themselves speak while rarely saying anything remotely worthwhile. There were a handful that truly did care about the issues they were here to support, some whose hearts were in the right place, but they seemed so few and far between.

It didn't help her mood any that Bruce hadn't opened the gift that she had gotten for him, but she knew that she had no one to blame but herself. It had taken nearly the whole car ride for her to get her nerve up only to have the moment interrupted by a phone call.

She mentally chided herself for being such a coward about all of this, so unlike the Amazon that she was. It was just a baby…a baby that she and Bruce had made together, not an earth-shattering alien invasion or an attack by Darkseide. It was a beautiful little baby created out of their love.

She was an Amazon warrior, afraid of nothing and no one. This should be happy news to share with her husband, not something to be dreaded. And it would've been a joyous event if Aphrodite hadn't decided to take an interest in the blessed miracle.

Diana turned with a heavy sigh, knowing that she had been foolish for not telling Bruce sooner, allowing her emotions to get the best of her. Bruce had truly changed over the last year and a half, making great strides in letting her in and keeping the demons inside at bay.

She suddenly heard the familiar sound of Bruce's deep baritone laughter coming from the other side of the large ballroom. It put a smile on her lips, warming her to her core as she suddenly caught sight of him talking to a couple of businessmen.

His expression exuded such happiness and contentment, his smile genuine and heating her blood like only he could ever do. His eyes unexpectedly lifted to meet hers, his smile morphing into a dark smirk that spoke of things that he would love to do to her. It caused a shiver of desire to lance through her, his blue-eyed gaze intensifying by the moment.

Diana smiled seductively in response, wishing more than anything that she could get him alone right now. There were things that she'd like to do to him as well. It had definitely been far too long since they'd been together.

The men standing with him suddenly noticed what he was staring so intently at, both of them grinning knowingly and one clapping him on the back. Whatever the man had just said to him made Bruce' smile broaden again.

Diana was abruptly distracted by a hand gently grasping her elbow and stealing her attention away from her husband. Turning to her side, she found herself looking into the striking green eyes of a young man that she had never seen before.

"Pardon me, but aren't you Wonder Woman?" he politely asked.

"Yes, but please call me Diana," she said, extending her hand to shake his.

The man bowed slightly as he took her hand, turning it and lightly pressing his lips to her knuckles as he stared intently at her. "It's an extreme pleasure to meet the great champion of the gods. Rumors of your beauty do not do justice to the reality."

Diana smiled at the charming man before her, completely missing the dark glower that suddenly veiled her husband's face from clear across the room. "I like to lend my name to charitable organizations whenever possible in order to draw attention to important issues."

"I'm sure the orphanage will benefit greatly from your lovely presence," he told her as he straightened up, holding her a heartbeat longer than truly necessary.

"Thank you…Mister…" Diana replied, allowing her voice to trail off.

"Mister Darren Strong, but please you can call me Darren," he smiled at her.

Diana felt a sharp pang inside in her chest with hearing the name of the man who had managed to completely capture her husband's full attention and finding herself standing before him now. She kept her expression calm and pleasant while her mind raced with hundreds questions.

She intended to get some answers to those very questions tonight, anything that might help Bruce get to the bottom of whatever this man was truly up to. "It's nice to finally meet you, Darren," she said. "I've heard about a proposal you presented to my husband last week."

Darren smirked with pride with her comment. "So your husband has talked about me with you."

"Briefly," she told him. "What sort of business are you in, Darren?"

"Electronics, but I'm interested in expanding my ventures in genetics and biologic research."

"Sounds fascinating," she nodded. "I would be interested in hearing about the proposal that you made with Wayne Enterprises."

Bruce had a death-grip on his champagne flute, his jaw clenched tight enough to shatter teeth. Darren Strong was talking to his wife and he didn't like it one bit. In fact, he didn't want that man anywhere near her. As far as he knew, Darren Strong had not been on the invitation list. He began to wonder how in the world he'd been allowed to attend.

He had a very bad feeling about the man talking to his wife and it was only steadily growing stronger as time went by. Last night, he had finally done an in-depth study on the proposal that Darren had given him. It had left him feeling more than a little unsettled for more than one reason.

There was something about the proposal that made him suspect that much more was going on beneath the surface, an ulterior plan that was not revealed in the information that he'd been given. It had been as if certain things had been intentionally left out.

"Watch it there, Bruce," Craig Hall said from beside him, a grin on his full face. "You grip that glass any harder and it'll shatter in your hand."

Bruce forced himself to relax his grip, laughing it off as nothing. "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I believe I owe my wife a dance before I get in trouble for spending more time with you than her."

He flashed them his usual playboy smile before setting his glass down. He marched straight towards Darren and his princess, the way the man was staring at Diana causing his jealousy to flare hotly in his core and causing his every muscle to tense with anger.

Unfortunately, he was only able to take half a dozen steps before being pulled to an abrupt stop by Melanie again. "Bruce!" she cried, frantic. "We have a huge problem!"

"What's wrong?" he tightly asked, turning to look at her.

"We're getting low on champagne," she exclaimed. "The evening is a complete disaster! We're going to run out and the event will be completely ruined! What are we going to do?"

Bruce drew a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. Melanie was always very good at what she did with setting up these benefit galas, but she also had a penchant for drama and a low threshold for stress resulting in spectacles like the one she was putting on now.

Looking up again, he found Diana and Darren gone.

"Would you care to dance?" Darren offered.

"I'd love to," Diana smiled warmly as she took his offered hand, allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor.

Darren pulled her into his arms, keeping a respectable distance between them as he began to move her around the dance floor. He could hardly take his eyes off of her, her radiant beauty captivating him and drawing him in.

"You dance beautifully," he commented. "I bet you do everything to perfection."

Diana chuckled softly with his compliment, a warm rosy blush coloring her cheeks. "I bet you charm all the ladies, don't you Mr. Strong?"

"It's Darren and only the beautiful ones," he smiled devilishly.

"Even if they're married?" she asked, quirking a delicate raven eyebrow.

"Not usually, but there's always an exception to be made to every rule," he huskily replied, his lustful gaze raking over her body before settling on her ample cleavage.

A sudden firm finger beneath his chin forced him to meet her eyes, her gaze a fiery shade of dark blue. "My eyes are up here," she stated.

"I apologize," Darren smirked with a playboy grin that reminded of her Bruce at his foppish worst. "It's hard to focus when I have the stunning Wonder Woman in my arms."

"Well, I suggest that you try or you'll see a side of me that you might not find so pleasing," she pleasantly said, a smile on her lips despite the sharp edge to her threat.

Darren's eyes flashed something dark and definitely indecent with her not-so veiled threat, practically welcoming the pain that she could cause him before he finally laughed in response. "I have no doubt about that," he chuckled. "You truly are everything that I had heard about and so much more."

Diana suddenly broke free from his hold on her. "I think this dance is finished, Mr. Strong" she told him as she turned to leave the dance floor.

Darren quickly grabbed hold of her hand, pulling her to a stop and earning a deadly ice-blue glare for his actions. Immediately sensing his mistake, he swiftly retracted his hand. "I apologize," he seriously said. "I did not mean to offend you. I have a tendency to talk without thinking. I'm afraid it's a flaw that I'm working to mend."

"I suggest you work a little harder at it before you find yourself picking your teeth up off of the floor," she icily replied.

Diana suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, the room spinning and causing her to momentarily sway on her feet. Darren quickly reached out to steady her, leading her to a table and helping her to a chair.

"Are you alright?" he asked with obvious concern.

"Yes, I just got a little dizzy for a moment," she murmured as she took the glass of water that Darren offered her.

"I thought that as a Meta you were immune to things like illnesses and diseases," Darren frowned as he intently studied her.

"Normally, I am," was all that she would comment on the matter. She wasn't about to tell this man that this episode was a result of her being pregnant.

Finally placating Melanie and sending her on a mission to get more champagne, Bruce was free to find his wife again. He had unfortunately spotted Darren and Diana dancing together, further fueling his already kindling ire at that moment.

He had asked Melanie how Darren Strong had been invited to tonight's benefit. She had told him that Mr. Strong had kindly made a very generous donation to the new orphanage in exchange for an invitation to the gala. It only confirmed in Bruce's mind that that he was up to something.

He didn't want that man anywhere near his wife and now he was holding her in his arms and dancing with her. He wondered if Diana truly knew who he was, regretting now that he hadn't warned her about him before now.

Of course, it wasn't like Diana couldn't handle herself, but still he didn't like the idea of her being put in danger no matter how indestructible everyone thought she was. She somehow always seemed to walk away with an injury of some kind, causing his heart to nearly stop beating in his chest every time.

Glancing at the dance floor, Bruce found Diana and Darren no longer there. He swiftly began scanning the crowded ballroom, desperate to find his wife. Turning in tight circles, he finally spotted her sitting at a table holding her head, Darren kneeling worriedly before her.

Bruce's panic immediately rose sharply, clutching at his throat. He began to make his way over to them only to hear an all too familiar voice and not one that he had hoped to hear ever again in his lifetime.

"Brucie!"

He kept walking, his hands balled at his sides, pretending as though he hadn't heard her, but he was abruptly forced to a stop when the blond he'd hoped to avoid stepped directly in his path. He drew a deep calming breath to keep himself from physically throwing her aside in order to get to Diana.

"Brucie!" the woman squealed his name again in that irritating voice of hers. "I wondered if I'd see you here tonight. I mean I had really hoped that I'd run into you, but I just didn't know if I would. I've been in Europe for the last two years and just returned to Gotham. I just can't believe you're really here."

"Hi, Jenna," he coldly stated, his dark daze practically boring straight through her skull as if silently willing her to disappear. "It's good to see you too. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"So what have you been up to?" she gushed as she pressed her shapely figure against him, her hands coming to rest against his chest. "I've missed you so much, Bruce. I don't think a day went by that I didn't think about you when I was gone. I would love to pick up where we left off two and a half years ago."

"Jenna, I…"

"You are just as handsome as the last time I saw you," Jenna told him, her brown eyes roaming over him with a predatory gleam. She leaned in close so her lips were against his ear. "I'm still single you know. How about you ditch whichever bimbo you came here tonight with and take me home instead?"

"Jenna, I'm not interested," he heatedly stated, trying to push her away without creating a scene. Thankfully, no one seemed to be paying any attention to them, everyone turned and focused on Melanie who had taken to the stage to make some announcements about the new orphanage. "I didn't come here tonight with some bimbo. I came with my…"

"To tell you the truth, I don't care who you came with," she throatily murmured, leaning in and kissing him deeply as her hands roamed over him.

Diana looked up from Darren, hoping to find Bruce only to see him kissing another woman. She immediately felt her jealous rage sear through her, tears suddenly making her throat constrict painfully with the sight before her.

"I need some air," she told Darren, quickly standing to her feet.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, confused. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No…I'm fine…really," she replied as she quickly left the ballroom.

Bruce angrily pushed Jenna away, desperate to get away from this woman. "Jenna, I don't know what rock you've been living under for the last two years, but I'm married," he growled. "Now, if you'll excuse I'm, I have to find my wife."

He pushed past her, no longer caring about good manners. Making his way to the table where he'd last seen her, he found Darren standing all alone. "Where is Diana?" he snapped, forcing himself to rein in his anger.

"I don't know," Darren shook his head. "She just left. I don't think she was feeling well. She wanted to get some air."

Bruce swore under his breath as he raced outside the hotel only to find Alfred standing outside of the limo, his arms crossed and a disapproving expression on his face. "Alfred," he called as he drew near. "Where is Diana?"

"I don't know what you did, but you had better fix it, Master Bruce," Alfred reprimanded him.

"Which way did she go?" Bruce growled, his patience running very thin at that moment.

"That way, but I believe you need to open this first," Alfred informed him as he handed him the gift that Diana had given him earlier.

"Alfred, I don't have time for this," he barked. "I have to find Diana."

"I think this will help explain things," the British butler insisted.

Bruce snatched the box out of his surrogate father's hands, ripping the silver wrapping paper off before opening the gift. He pulled out a coffee mug, holding it up to read the words on it. His fierce glower swiftly fell away, his heart hammering uncontrollably with what it said.

_Ten Rules For Dating My Daughter…_

Shocked, he slowly looked up into Alfred's face, his mind and tongue both refusing to work at that moment as the words slowly began to sink in. Diana was pregnant with his baby…a girl. He was going to have a daughter. He could barely contain the excitement that flooded his soul.

He watched as a proud smile broke across Alfred's face, his head nodding to confirm the unspoken question in his surrogate son's eyes. "But…I…she…" Bruce attempted to speak, but couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"Go find her, Master Bruce," Alfred gently told him, handing him a handkerchief. "First, though, I would wipe that hideous pink lipstick off your face before you do."

Bruce quickly wiped away Jenna's lipstick, handing Alfred his new coffee mug for safekeeping before going after his wife, more desperate now than ever to find her.

Diana angrily brushed away the tears that trickled down her cheeks, furious with herself for allowing her emotions get the best of her. She couldn't believe that Bruce had kissed another woman. Her hands curled into fists with the thought, her fingernails digging into her palms as she made her way down the dark empty street.

She had wanted to go over there and knock that woman out, but she'd forced herself to leave instead, afraid of causing a scene. That was the last thing that they needed to have show up on the front page of the newspaper – a picture of Wonder Woman decking another woman who had kissed her husband.

This evening had turned into a complete disaster, beginning at the Manor and ending with her walking away all alone. She pressed a hand to her abdomen, fighting against the roiling nausea inside, the lingering dizziness that threatened to take her to her knees.

Alfred had known immediately that something was wrong when she had walked out of the ballroom alone, offering his help or to take her home, but she had refused. She had needed to be alone for a while, to clear her head and regain control of her emotions again.

How had everything fallen apart like this? She should've just told Bruce about the baby as soon as she had found out, but she hadn't because of fear, afraid of how he would react and now everything felt like it was spinning out of control.

"Diana!"

Her insides trembled with the sound of her name on his lips. Her body always betrayed her whenever he said her name, whenever he touched her or kissed her no matter how angry she was with him…or with herself for that matter.

"Diana…please stop!"

Bruce released a relieved breath as he saw her stop, waiting for him to catch up to her. Everything inside of him wanted to just pull her into his arms and kiss her breathless, but there were things they needed to talk about first.

"Princess…please let me explain," he began as he drew near, his hand reaching for hers and forcing her to turn around to face him.

"There's nothing to explain," she said, wiping away her tears with her free hand. "One of your old girlfriends saw you and kissed you in an attempt to get you back. I get it, Bruce. I know you had thousands of conquests and I shouldn't be jealous, but…"

"You shouldn't be," he told her, his heart broken by her tears, her downcast eyes filled with hurt. "You're the only one I love…and you're carrying my baby girl."

Diana looked up, stunned with his words. "You know?" she murmured.

Bruce nodded his head as a brilliant smile broke across his face, his thumb brushing against the back of her hand as he stared at her. "I opened your gift," he replied with a grin. "I love it more than you can begin to imagine."

"But there's something more," she softly admitted, drawing a shuddering breath.

"What is it? Are you alright?" he asked, his elation turning to fear. "Is the baby alright?"

"Yes, we're both fine, but there's something that you need to know about our daughter," she informed him. "It was part of the reason for mother's visit last week."

Bruce's entire body grew tense with worry as he waited for her to speak again. Whatever it was that she was about to tell him, he swore that they would get through it together. He loved her with every fiber of his being and nothing would ever change that, already loved this baby.

"It's alright, Princess," he murmured, closing the distance between them and pulling her into his arms. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not that bad."

"During mother's prayers, she was visited by Aphrodite who told her that I was pregnant with a little girl and that she was blessed," she admitted, pulling back to gaze into his eyes. "Our daughter is blessed by Aphrodite, Bruce."

Bruce stared at her for a long moment, stunned by the news. "Our daughter is blessed by the goddess of love and sex?" he said, his baritone voice emphasizing each word that was laced with definite annoyance.

"Yes," she nodded her head, the tears returning with a vengeance. "That's why I've waited so long to tell you. I…I didn't know how to tell you our daughter was already blessed by a goddess. I was afraid that you'd be upset and…"

"Diana, it's alright," he suddenly told her, pulling her into his arms and holding her more tightly than he probably should. "I'm just thrilled that you're alright and that we're having a baby girl."

"Are you sure?" she asked as she returned his embrace, pressing her face into his chest.

"Yes, I'm sure," he adamantly replied. "I was so afraid something was wrong with you. I have to admit I'm not happy about Aphrodite's blessing, but we'll deal with it together."

Diana pulled back to look into his eyes. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she cried as he brushed away her tears with his fingertips. "I was going to tell you in the Caribbean, but I didn't want to ruin the wonderful weekend you had planned if you didn't take it well."

"It's alright, Princess," he shook his head. "It's my fault. I've given you more than enough reasons over the last few years to worry about how I would react to all of this."

"I love you, Bruce," she whispered, her hand coming to rest against his check. "So much…"

Bruce silenced her with a passionate kiss, showing her just how much he loved her and planning on showing her even more when they finally got home.

"Could you two use a ride?" Alfred asked as he pulled up next to the couple completely lost in each other.

Bruce pulled out of the heated kiss to chuckle softly, taking Diana's hand in his as he led her to the waiting limo. Diana paused before getting inside, turning to look at her husband.

"You're already working on a plan to have the blessing removed, aren't you?" she asked with an amused smile.

"You know me too well, Princess," he smirked, kissing her before getting into the car.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Panting heavily, Bruce rolled off of his wife, always worried about crushing her when they made love when in reality she could bench press a tank with one hand. She always told him how she loved the feeling of his full weight on top of her like a protective cocoon, but his guilt ultimately won out in the end.

He swiftly pulled her to him, her lips immediately finding the moist skin of his chest. He ran his fingers through her slightly damp hair, relishing in the intense euphoria pumping wildly through his body. Their bedroom was filled with the heady scent of their love making mingled with the intoxicating scent of his Princess that he could never get enough of.

"I'm so relieved…that you decided to take the night off to stay here with me…instead of going out on patrol," Diana told him through exerted breaths, loving the sound of her husband's still hammering heart beneath her ear. "I thought I was going to have to hold you hostage…and force myself on you."

Bruce chuckled softly with her words, savoring the feeling of her skin pressed fully against his. "I have to admit there were a couple of times this past week that I honestly thought you were going to attack me," he admitted.

"Well, if you hadn't decided to give me the cold shoulder this week," she playfully swatted him on the chest. "That was just cruel to do to a pregnant wife."

"I forgot how insatiable you are when you're pregnant."

"You just found out we're going to have a baby a few hours ago," she propped herself up on an elbow to look at him. His face was still flushed with rapture, pleasure that she alone had put there. "Besides, I haven't ever been that bad, have I?"

He rolled onto his side to face her, his hand finding her abdomen and caressing it lovingly, more than anxious for the evidence of their love making to begin to show. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead and nose before finding her lips again.

"I never said that I was complaining, Princess," he smirked at her. "I am more than willing and happy to take care of your every need…no matter when or how often."

"I had a feeling you would be," she smiled in response. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, but I didn't know how to break it to you. I was hoping the gift would help soften the blow somewhat."

"I love my coffee mug and I already love our daughter," he told her, brushing soft kisses along her jaw to her ear. "In fact, I think I'm going to have to add some rules of my own to it…Batman rules for dating my daughter."

"Oh, Hera, help me," Diana chuckled softly, her eyes falling closed with the pleasure thrumming through her with his touch. "I can only imagine what you have in mind. You'll probably have a whole manual prepared before she even turns a year old."

"I just have to find a way to get that damn blessing by Aphrodite removed," he scowled.

"Bruce, it's not the end of the world you know," she reminded him as she caressed his chest, lightly tracing the valleys and curves of his well-defined muscles. "Besides, do you really think you can go up against a goddess?"

"Our unborn daughter is blessed by the goddess of love and sex, Diana," he stated, his fear about the ramifications of it all punctuating his every single word. "What part of that doesn't make your blood turn to ice water in your veins?"

Diana couldn't help but giggle despite his fear over their unborn daughter. "You do remember that I'm blessed by Aphrodite as well and I turned out pretty good, didn't I?"

"You turned out more than perfect," he smiled as he nuzzled his nose against her, his hand coming to rest on her hip. "But I already have enough trouble with the way men leer at you as it is. What am I going to do with a beautiful daughter too?"

"Do you want her to be ugly?" Diana frowned.

"I don't think we could ever make an ugly baby, Princess," he murmured as he began kissing along her throat again, his large hand slipping from her hip to gentle knead her backside.

Diana moaned as his mouth captured hers, her hips grinding against his. He always managed to make her melt and more than willing to do anything he wanted when he kissed and touched her like this. She couldn't believe how well he knew every inch of her body, knew just the right way to build a steady burn deep within her or bring her to a heated frenzy.

Only he could turn the mighty Amazon warrior into a boneless writhing mess, incoherent and unable to speak intelligibly. The problem was that he knew the affect that he had on her and it only served to feed his already enormous ego.

Retreating for air, Diana suddenly pushed her husband onto his back, moving to straddle him and pinning his body to the bed with her own, his hands on either side of his head as she leaned victoriously over him.

"I would love our baby no matter what because it will be equal parts you and me," she gave him her best glare, but couldn't hide the way her blue eyes sparkled mischievously down at him.

Although he loved being in control, it was certainly beyond erotic when she dominated him like this. He could already feel his body beginning to respond to her all over again. She affected him so deeply in so many ways, strumming his body like an instrument and driving him to the brink of sweet madness with the intense pleasure that she alone could create within him.

"What if our daughter was born looking like Hephaestus?" he teased her.

Diana bit back a giggle with the thought of their daughter looking like the crippled blacksmith god. She did her best to school her expression in order to look completely unaffected by his ludicrous question, but it was beyond difficult with the image that was forming in her mind.

"I would love our daughter even if she looked like Hephaestus," she maintained, "because she would be all of you and all of me."

His piercing blue-eyed gaze narrowed in thought as he came up with another example. "You would still love our daughter if she looked like Medusa?" he pressed. "Head covered in venomous snakes instead of hair?"

Diana couldn't hold in the laughter that spilled from her lips this time. "Bruce Wayne!" she scolded him. "Do you honestly think our daughter would like that hideous witch?"

"You never know, Princess," he argued. He couldn't help teasing his wife; it was one of his most favorite things to do besides making love with her. "My in-laws are gods and goddesses. I need to be prepared for every eventuality."

"I told you not to worry about them," she attempted to reassure him.

"Yah, and look what it got me, Princess," he rolled his eyes. "My unborn daughter is blessed by Aphrodite."

"It could be worse," she pointed out. "She could've been blessed by Cupid or better yet Eros."

Bruce groaned with the thought. "Are you trying to put me in an early grave?" he asked. "Why couldn't she have been blessed by the virgin goddess Hestia instead? Now that I definitely could've handled."

"The goddess of chastity and home? Don't you want any grandchildren some day?" she asked as she leaned down and kissed him sensually. "Don't worry. We'll get through this together…I promise."

Succumbing to the sweet pleasure she was building within him again, he found his worry over their baby girl swiftly dissipating. "I wonder if Melanie ever noticed that we left," he murmured as she kissed along his jaw, pausing to rake her teeth over his skin.

"I don't really care right now," she replied. "I finally have my husband all to myself and I'm going to enjoy every single second of it."

"Not until you tell me about Darren Strong."

Diana paused in her slow sensual attack, sitting back to look down at her husband who moaned as she rubbed against him. "Oh, you mean besides the fact the guy is a piece of slime?"

"What did he try?" Bruce asked sharply, a fierce sneer on his lips at the thought of him assaulting his wife in any way.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," she reassured him, releasing her hold on his hands. "That was what you were hiding from me about him wasn't it? That he's a womanizer like my husband used to be?"

Bruce scowled with the analogy, knowing deep down that she wasn't that far off base. In fact, it was almost like Darren Strong was trying to be like Bruce Wayne, the philanthropist by day and billionaire playboy by night.

So just what was he doing in the hours of darkness while everyone else slept?

He wondered just how much about him Darren knew…how much of his life he was truly trying to mimic. Did it reach into nighttime endeavors as well? Did he know the connection between Bruce Wayne and Batman…and Wonder Woman?

The thought gave him chills.

"You know that wasn't the real me, Princess," he told her as he sat up, keeping her on his lap where he wanted her. "I never slept with all of those women."

"I know," she nodded. "I'm just not so sure about this Darren Strong. There's something more to him, something that I can't put my finger on."

"So you noticed it too?"

"Let's just say that I understand why you're trying so hard to find out everything you can about him."

"What exactly did he say to you tonight?" he pressed, wanting answers. He needed to know how deep this man's fascination with his wife truly ran.

Diana bit her bottom lip as she thought back over the events of the evening. "He was very flirtatious," she recounted to him. "I asked him about his business and he told me that he was interested in expanding his company into genetics and biologic research. He asked me to dance and almost got his teeth knocked down his throat."

"Why? What did he do?" Bruce demanded to know, tightening his grip on his wife's hips, his eyes flashing with jealous anger.

"Let's just say that he spent a little too much time admiring my…assets..." she replied as her gaze flickered down to her breasts.

She watched Bruce's jaw tighten as he ground his teeth, his grip on her painful had she been any other woman. But she wasn't any other woman and he was free to be what and who he needed to be with her and he loved her all the more for it.

"And then what happened?" he tightly inquired.

"That's when I got a little dizzy and he helped me to a table to sit down," she informed him. "That's when I caught that bimbo kissing you."

"I don't want you near him," he told her, his voice raspy and deep and commanding like the Bat.

"Bruce, I can handle myself," she chuckled softly with his over-protectiveness. "He can't hurt me."

"He's up to something, Diana," he shook his head, his expression filled with anger as well as palpable fear. "I can feel it in my bones. I don't want him anywhere near you and our baby."

Diana frowned with his order, not liking the idea of being told what to do. On the other hand, if Darren Strong truly was a threat, she didn't want their baby to be harmed in any way either. Besides, if it made Bruce feel better then she would agree to it. He still couldn't keep her from helping with his investigation, though.

"Fine…for now…" she replied.

"Diana…" he growled.

"I'm still going to help you get to the bottom of whatever it is he's up to," she informed him. "We're a team whether you like it or not, Bruce Wayne."

Bruce glared at her for a long moment, weighing her words before his glare slowly faded into a relenting smirk. "I guess since I have no choice, Mrs. Wayne."

"I knew you'd see it my way," she grinned triumphantly. "I always get what I want."

Before she could say another word, he erased her grin with his mouth, his lips crashing into hers as he flipped her onto her back, his body settling over hers and pinning her to the mattress. "And now, I'm going to get what I want," he huskily informed her as he began to kiss his way down her chest.

XXX

"I'm telling you," Tim leaned on Bruce's desk with his hands, desperate to make his point. "Nick has some sort of super power."

Bruce finally looked up at his son over the top of his computer screen, an unimpressed expression lighting his face. "You probably just forgot where you put it and Nicholas got his hands on it when you weren't paying attention."

Tim scowled at his father's lack of belief in his story. "No, I'm telling you, Bruce. I set my cell phone on the nightstand table beside the rocking chair before I put him in his crib. When I came back, it was with him in his crib. He was drooling all over it."

"He had his check up with J'onn not even two weeks ago," he reminded him. "He was completely fine and super abilities free."

"Well, something has definitely changed since then," Tim insisted, straightening up and folding his arms against his chest, refusing to back down.

Bruce cast a glance at his young son who was playing quietly in his pack and play while Bruce worked in his office. Nicholas suddenly looked up at his father through the thin netting, smiling brightly and displaying the two new upper teeth that were coming in to join the two bottom teeth that were already there.

"Dada," Nicholas jabbered, holding up his toy Flash doll for him to see.

Bruce couldn't help grinning at his son, the love he felt for him warming his heart. "Hi, little bat," he smiled. "You're being a good partner today."

Nicholas babbled in excitement while Tim smirked at his surrogate father. Bruce had gotten to be such a softy at heart since Diana came into their lives and yet somehow it hadn't tainted his alter ego in the least. The Batman had remained the same intense, frightening vigilante that he had always been, maybe even more so because of the family that he was creating with Diana.

"Hey, why are you working from home today?" Tim abruptly asked. "I thought you had some important teleconference with someone in Indonesia or something like that."

"I already did it after lunch from my home office instead," he replied, turning his attention back to his middle son standing before him. "Diana wasn't feeling well today so I wanted to stay around here in case she needed anything."

"So the morning sickness is starting in already?"

"Afraid so," he frowned at the thought. While thrilled with the thought of having another baby with her, he hated how she struggled with morning sickness. "It seems worse this time around for some reason. She's been throwing up all day."

Tim could see the worry in his mentor's eyes. "I'm sure she'll be fine," he reassured him. "You know mom. Nothing keeps her down."

Bruce couldn't suppress the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth with Tim calling Diana mom. It pleased him in a way that he hadn't expected. They truly were becoming a real family at last.

"You're right about that," he agreed.

"Where is she now?" Tim asked. "I want to tell her about Nick and my cell phone. Maybe she'll believe me."

"She's sleeping right now so don't disturb her," he told him.

"Has anyone seen my favorite spatula?" Alfred suddenly said as he entered Bruce's office. "I can't find it anywhere."

"When did you use it last?" Tim asked.

"This morning while preparing breakfast," Alfred replied. "I made Miss Diana's favorite French toast hoping it would make her feel better. Unfortunately, the poor thing still got sick."

"Can't you just use a different spatula to make supper?" Bruce asked.

"I think not," Alfred frowned in indignation at the perceived ludicrous suggestion as he glanced at Nicholas in his play pen only to gasp in surprise. "There it is!"

Bruce and Tim both looked over to see Nicholas chewing on the end of Alfred's spatula, a look of innocent curiosity on his face. All three of them went to his play pen, their hands on their hips in stunned disbelief as they stared down at the little boy.

"I told you!" Tim exclaimed, casting an annoyed glare at Bruce.

"It explains nothing," Bruce frowned as he stared down at his son who had dropped the spatula to raise his arms towards his father to pick him up.

"His super power is stealing," Tim said as Bruce leaned over and picked up Nicholas.

Alfred reached into the pack and play to retrieve his favorite spatula now covered in drool and tiny teeth marks. Bruce looked over at Alfred, noticing the bewildered expression on his butler's face.

"I'll buy you a new spatula, Alfred," Bruce promised him, adoring the feel of Nicholas snuggling deeper into his father's hold on him, his little head coming to rest against Bruce's chest. It was moments like this that he swore he'd never forget for as long as he lived.

"You will do no such thing, Master Bruce," Alfred firmly said with his spatula firmly in hand, steadfastly raising his chin. "It is perfect just the way it is."

"It's covered in slobber and little teeth marks," Tim pointed out to him.

"It can be washed," Alfred replied with a wistful smile. "And as for the teeth marks, it makes it extra special to me now. You have no idea how many of my kitchen utensils Master Bruce used to chew on when he was teething."

"Yah, but I'll bet he didn't somehow magically steal them like Nicholas does," Tim said.

"Oh, heavens no," Alfred shook his head with a chuckle. "I made the mistake of keeping Master Bruce's highchair too close to the kitchen counter. He grabbed hold of everything he could get his little hands on every time I turned my back. Dinner will be ready shortly."

They watched as Alfred left with his spatula in hand, not even wondering how Nicholas had gotten his hands on it in the first place. Tim turned to Bruce, opening his mouth to say something, but was quickly stopped when Bruce held a hand up to him.

"Nicholas is not a thief," Bruce maintained as he took his son to sit at his desk with him. "There is a reasonable explanation for all of this."

"Yes, he has super stealing powers," Tim shot back as he plopped down in an overstuffed chair, his mind racing to work out all of the possibilities of having such a cool super power as well as which god or goddess had passed it on to him.

"Tim, he's a normal little boy," Bruce told him. _"Unlike my unborn daughter who has been blessed by a certain meddling goddess,"_ he mentally scowled to himself.

"Just wait until it happens to you," Tim shot back. "Then you'll believe me and I'm going to say 'I told you so'."

Just then, the phone in his office rang. "Yes, Alfred," Bruce answered.

"I have a Mr. Darren Strong on the line for you," Alfred informed him. "He wishes to speak with you if at all possible."

Bruce's grip on the receiver automatically tightened with the mention the man's name. "I'll take the call."

Seeing the darkness that suddenly veiled his father's face, Tim decided it was a good time to leave, knowing just what that look meant. He didn't want to be anywhere near him when he got that look on his face.

"Darren, this is Bruce," he tightly answered. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry to bother you," Darren apologized. "I tried the office and they told me that I might be able to catch you here. I was calling to see how Diana was doing this afternoon. She wasn't feeling well last night at the charity benefit."

Bruce's stomach immediately clenched with the man's words, his reason for calling. He swallowed back the anger that was suddenly clawing at his throat. "She's fine," he politely replied despite the dark fury thrumming through him now. "Thank you for calling to check on her."

"I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised when she got dizzy last night," Darren continued. "I thought Metas didn't succumb to illness."

Bruce ground his teeth, not liking this focus on his wife one bit. "Actually, she's not sick," he told him with a certain amount of swelling pride and satisfaction with his next words. "She's pregnant."

There was a long pause on the other end that pleased Bruce much more than it should have, but he couldn't help it. There was definitely something going on and he had a sick feeling inside that it was somehow linked to Diana.

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order, Bruce," Darren finally said, his voice not quite as sociable as it had just been.

"Thank you," Bruce replied, shifting Nicholas to his other leg to keep him from grabbing the phone in his hand. Nicholas squealed with discontentment, reaching out towards the phone and chattering excitedly as if he wanted in on the conversation.

"And that must be the famous Nicholas Wayne I hear in the background," Darren stated, heating Bruce's anger all the more.

Bruce scowled as he stood to his feet, taking Nicholas back to his play pen. "Yes it is," he responded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business that I still need to attend to before dinner."

"I was hoping that we could meet again soon to go over the proposal that I gave you last week."

"Call my secretary tomorrow and have her set up a lunch meeting so we can go over the information," Bruce told him.

"So you are interested in my possible business venture?"

"I am, but I do have several questions before proceeding with any form of agreement," Bruce admitted.

"I can understand that," Darren said. "I will give your secretary a call tomorrow. Give Diana my best."

"I will," Bruce rigidly replied before hanging up.

Bruce put the phone down as he settled back into his desk chair, the fine hairs on the back of his neck pricking with swelling suspicion. There was most definitely something going on in Gotham and with Darren Strong. He just needed to get to the bottom of it before something happened.

Picking up Nicholas again, he took his son into the kitchen and put him in his highchair so Alfred could keep an eye on him while he went upstairs to check on Diana. Climbing the stairs, he found he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that his conversation with Darren had stirred deep within him.

There was something about it all that seemed connected, but he couldn't quite put it all together.

Entering their bedroom, Bruce paused in the doorway, his gaze falling on his wife curled up under a blanket on their bed. Her raven curls were fanned out over the satin white pillow case, a contented look on her beautiful face.

He could watch her all day long and never get tired of it. He slowly made his way to her, kneeling down by the edge of their bed. He silently reached out, lightly running his fingers through her silky long hair before leaning in and kissing her softly on the lips.

"Time to wake up, Princess," he gently prodded her.

"Bruce…" she sleepily murmured, opening her eyes to find him staring at her, a soft smile on his lips, but recognizable panic clouding his eyes. She frowned as she reached out to cup his face. "What's wrong?"

He turned his head, his lips caressing the palm of her hand. "Nothing you need to worry about."

She sat up to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching out and pulling up to sit on the bed with her. "Talk to me, Bruce."

"Darren Strong just called now," he admitted. "He was checking to see how you were feeling."

"And you told him I was pregnant." It was more of a statement than an actual question, her voice laced with mild annoyance. "Bruce, the League doesn't even know yet."

"We'll tell them at the Founders meeting on Monday afternoon," he reassured her, intertwining his fingers with hers. "I don't like how interested Darren is in you and your Meta abilities. He was stunned to find out you were pregnant. I'm not sure what difference that would make to him."

"Unless his proposal has something to do with experimenting on Metas," she suggested. "He did say he was interested in expanding into genetics and biologic research."

"It could be," he muttered, lifting their joined hands to kiss her knuckles. "That's why I don't want you near him. You're far too important to me to be involved in this."

"I'll be alright, Bruce," she reassured him.

Bruce leaned over to kiss her, hooking a raven curl behind her ear. "Are you up for trying to eat something?" he murmured against her lips.

"I don't know," she groaned at the thought, her hand absentmindedly falling to her abdomen. "I'm almost afraid to try."

"You have to keep up your strength," he told her. "You have our baby growing inside of you. You need to take extra good care of yourself."

"I know," she nodded her head. "I'll come down and eat with you, but don't worry about me if I have to make a run for the bathroom."

"You know I will," he chuckled softly as he got up, taking her hand and pulling her up to stand with him, kissing her softly.

"You know you don't have to hold my hair back every time I throw up," she told him as she allowed him to lead her out of their bedroom.

"I want to," he replied. "If you're going to carry my baby, it's the least I can do."

"Yah, I did make you promise to carry the next baby and you failed me on that one," she giggled.

"We all have our burdens to bear," he chuckled in response.

"I'll gladly bear it for you," she sweetly said, kissing him on the cheek only to groan as the smells of dinner began to fill her nostrils.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Batman leaned forward on his forearms resting on his knee, his boot propped up on the ledge of Gotham's National Bank as he overlooked the gloomy dark streets below. His black cape snapped gently, catching in the wind that caused it to whip behind him.

Patrol had been unusually quiet for a Sunday night making him more than a little paranoid…or more so than he usually was. Maybe it was because of the rain that was falling or the unseasonably cool night or maybe it was the fact that the night before had been busier than usual for a Saturday night.

Either way it had put him on edge.

It didn't help any that he couldn't get the conversation that he'd had with Darren Strong from two days ago out of his head. He'd felt a tight knot of dread that sat like a rock in the pit of his stomach ever since then.

There was very little information that they'd been able to uncover so far on the mysterious entrepreneur who had suddenly moved to Gotham from New York City, hadn't even been able to find a damn birth certificate on the man.

Whoever this guy was or whatever he was up to, it couldn't be anything good.

And then there was Diana. His beautiful Diana. She'd been so sick over the last three days, vomiting not just limited to the mornings. He hated being forced to watch her struggle with the nausea and vomiting, suffering because of the beautiful baby they had made.

He felt so completely helpless to make it any better for her, holding her hair and rubbing her back as she emptied her stomach definitely not enough for what he knew she was going through. And yet, she never complained, always taking it all in stride and flashing him that smile that made his stomach do flips every time.

He didn't know why she was struggling so much more with this pregnancy compared to the last, but he was determined to find out what he could do for her. If she wasn't any better when he got home, he was contacting J'onn or Leslie. He didn't want to take any chances with her or the baby.

Speaking of which…

"What are you doing here, Princess?" he deeply rasped without even turning around.

She never ceased to charm him even after being married for a year. Even now she still tried to sneak up on him, but he always knew she was coming a heartbeat before she ever arrived. He had to admit, though, she was getting better.

"I thought you could use a little break," she said as she silently stepped out from the dark shadows of the roof.

"You should be in bed sleeping," he stated.

There was a definite annoyed edge to his stern voice, but beneath it there was a hint of endearment that she infrequently got to hear when he was in costume. "I was tired of being in bed," she replied as she approached. "I've been there for three days now."

He looked down out of the corner of his eye as she set a large cup of coffee down on the ledge of the building, the dark hot liquid creating swirling cyclones of steam to rise up out of the slit in the plastic lid that protected the delicious goodness inside.

He also caught a glimpse of a long black Lycra covered arm. At least she hadn't come in her usual uniform, one that screamed I'm Wonder Woman and advertising to the world that she was really married to Batman aka Bruce Wayne.

Now, though, he could do what he really wanted to do at that moment.

In one swift fluid motion, Batman turned, his cape whipping as he abruptly pulled her into his arms, his mouth suddenly on hers, kissing her breathless. Her thick raven hair was swept back into a ponytail, her face wet from the unrelenting rain. He slid his gauntleted hands up her spine only to feel her shiver in his arms, knowing it wasn't from the cool wet night air.

Diana moaned as his hot mouth continued to devour her, his tongue tangling so deliciously with hers in a repetitive sensual slide. She had missed him, missed this connection with him the last few days so she had decided to find him though she knew that he wouldn't be happy about it…at least not at first.

Bruce finally pulled back, breathing hard, his face refusing to reveal the desire that she had just awakened within him. "Go home, Princess," he bluntly told her.

His order was harsh, but his arms had yet to release her telling her that he really wasn't quite ready for her to leave despite his constant worry over her. The corners of her lips curved in response, her cobalt blue eyes sparkling brightly despite the dark night sky as she stared at his masked face.

"My bed was too lonely," she whispered, leaning in to dragging her lips along his chiseled jaw line. "I couldn't sleep without my handsome husband there to hold me."

"Go home and I promise I'll be there later to warm you up," he told her a little more gently this time, his eyes falling closed with the feel of her warm lips assaulting his exposed jaw and making his head spin.

"Why are you so determined to get rid of me?" she paused her assault to look at his cowled face. "Do you have another woman on the side?"

Bruce smirked with her teasing question. "Are you kidding me? I have my hands full with the one I've got," he replied, wrapping his cape protectively around her to help keep the falling rain off of her. "It's cold and wet out here. Go home, Princess."

"I'm a Meta…I don't get sick," she shot back, refusing to back down any time soon.

"You've been throwing up for three days with morning sickness," he reminded her. "I'm making sure you see J'onn after our founder's meeting tomorrow afternoon so he can give you something for the vomiting. I hate seeing you this sick."

"I'm feeling a little better."

Bruce frowned at his wife, noticing the faint shadows under her eyes, the way her cheeks were slightly sunken in. Now that she was carrying their child again, she needed to be gaining weight, not losing it. He was growing more concerned about her with every passing day.

"You need to be home taking care of yourself not out here worrying about me."

"I'll always worry about you," she countered. "Nothing will ever change that."

"I thought wives were supposed to be barefoot and pregnant at home, not gallivanting around a filthy city at all hours of the night in the rain," he teased her, bracing himself for the assault that he knew was about to come, but he couldn't help himself.

Diana's eyes narrowed into a very dangerous glare, one that only served to heighten his arousal even more. "I am not that kind of wife," she bit out, her grip on his waist tightening painfully, causing him to visibly wince.

"My mistake," he gasped, amused. "I must have you confused with one of my other wives."

He grunted as her fist suddenly connected playfully with his Kevlar protected abdomen. "You will have no other woman but me or I'll make sure you live to regret it."

"Hmmm…what exactly do you have in mind?" he spoke with a sudden lop-sided grin that was so incongruous with the black bat suit that adorned his muscular body. "Something that includes that lasso of yours I hope?"

"Didn't we try that already?" she grinned something sinful, her hands coming to rest against the bat symbol on his chest.

"Practice makes perfect, Princess," he said as he tilted his head to kiss her again.

Diana put a finger to his lips to halt him only to have him suddenly take her finger into his hot mouth, his tongue swirling around the digit as he sucked on it. She moaned softly with his suggestive assault, her breath catching when he finally released it.

"I actually did come here for another reason besides seducing you," she admitted with a smirk.

"Too late," he huskily breathed as he began kissing behind her ear, the rain still falling down around them. "You've already awoken the beast, Princess. It's what you get for coming out here and interrupting my patrol like this."

Diana chuckled softly but it turned into a gasp as he gently raked his teeth over the sensitive skin right behind her ear. "Even if it's about a certain Darren Strong?"

Bruce instantly froze with the mention of the name that had his insides twisted with trepidation since he'd first met the man. He pulled back to look at his wife, the white lenses of his cowl narrowed into thin slits as he held her in his arms.

"What about him?" he ground out.

Diana could feel his entire body grow tense despite his Kevlar uniform. "I couldn't sleep so I thought I would try and do some research of my own on him; see if I could turn up anything on him for you."

"And?"

"I took the date of birth that you had on him and researched all of the baby boys born in New York City with that same date of birth."

"Oracle already tried doing that and came up with nothing matching him."

"I found that out as well so I checked the entire state of New York," she told him.

"She already checked that too," he said, releasing his hold on her to grab his coffee, unimpressed with what she'd told him thus far as well as a little disappointed that she hadn't come just to seduce him. "She also checked the entire United Stated and came up with nothing on him past five years ago."

"I realized that," she nodded, undaunted by his lack of interest so far. "That's when it struck me. What if he had been abandoned by his mother at a church or a hospital?"

Batman turned sharply to look at her, peering at her over the edge of his cup as he held it against his lips. "What?"

"What if he had grown up in an orphanage and no one knew his true date of birth," Diana suggested. "So I began a search of all New York City orphanages with little boys around the same age as our Darren Strong."

"That would take forever, Princess."

"In the beginning I thought so too…until I stumbled upon a little boy who grew up in an orphanage in New York City by the name of Aaron Armstrong with green eyes and brown hair. He ran away from the orphanage when he was fourteen. No one has seen him since – no school records, no credit cards, no jobs, nothing."

Batman set his cup of coffee down on the ledge again, straightening up and folding his arms against his broad chest. Diana could tell he was contemplating what she had just uncovered, clenching his jaw as his mind worked through this new information.

"Not bad, Princess," he gruffly replied, his face set in that characteristic way that told her he was already trying to put the pieces together.

"'Not bad, Princess'?" she repeated each word in annoyed disbelief. "You and Oracle have been working on this for almost two weeks and that's all I get? I found Darren's true identity. I think it's deserving of much more than that."

His intense gaze fixed on her, Batman gradually closed the distance between them, his breath pulsating against her face and sending a hot shiver down her spine as he allowed his proximity to affect her and help erase her irritation. He slowly leaned in, letting the tension build as he stopped just a breath away from her lips.

"You are brilliant, Princess," he whispered before softly brushing his lips against hers, so tentative and yet taunting. "And the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on."

"That's much better," she murmured with a proud smirk. "He also has a twin sister by the name of Allison Armstrong who still lives in New York City by her given birth name. I sent the rest of the information I found to Oracle for further investigation and saved it to your computer in the batcave for you to review when you return."

"I take it all back," he huskily said. "You are unbelievably amazing and I'm so glad I decided to marry you."

Her smirk was swiftly erased by a kiss that quickly turned quite heated, his arms keeping her pressed against his body. "You're pretty incredible yourself," Diana softly breathed, knowing she needed to leave him to his work now. "Be safe, Dark Knight. Come home soon."

"You can count on it," he told her, kissing her one more time before he reluctantly released his hold on her, watching as she was swallowed up into night's ominous shadows.

He felt a slight heaviness in his chest as she left, forgetting at times just how much she truly lightened his soul. He turned his attention back to the streets of Gotham, anxious to finish his night so he could return home to her.

This newest information that Diana had stumbled across had been invaluable. Now, he finally had something more to go on, hopefully discovering exactly what Darren Strong was up to and why he was so interested in him and his family.

"B, it's Robin."

"What is it, Robin?"

"Got another dead body just like the other three," Robin informed him.

"Damn…that makes four now," Batman hissed angrily. "Where?"

"Down at the docks. I'll wait for you."

"On my way. Batman out."

XXX

Entering the warehouse, Batman and Robin stealthily moved in the dark shadows, avoiding the moonlight that filtered through the high windows overhead in case there was still someone lingering somewhere inside.

Silently tapping Batman on the shoulder, Robin pointed in the direction that he had seen the body from the skylight in the roof when he had been making his rounds. The docks were a well-known dumping ground for disposing of bodies especially by the crime lords of Gotham and tonight had not proven that reality wrong.

Spotting the body lying on the floor on the other side of the large warehouse, Batman came to a sudden stop, forcing Robin to stop behind him as well. He turned his head ever so slightly, listening and taking in as much information as possible before making their presence known.

Someone else was still here. He felt it in his bones.

Batman turned to his partner, silently directing Robin to circle around and come in from the other side. Robin nodded his head in agreement as he noiselessly moved back further into the shadows as the Dark Knight turned his attention ahead of him again.

Batman automatically reached for a batarang, prepared for a fight. He was anxious to catch whoever was in here so he could interrogate them for information about these murders. So far they hadn't been able to find any connection between the three men they'd already found murdered except for the fact that they had all served minimal jail time at one time or another.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, he swiftly turned, firing his grapple towards the ceiling and allowing it to draw him up and away just as a small explosive landed on the ground right where he'd just been standing, exploding and putting a hole in the warehouse wall.

He landed on top of a huge piece of machinery, immediately dropping into a crouching position. He tightened his grip on his batarang as he quickly scanned the area for any signs of the attacker.

Spotting movement in the shadows to his right, Batman launched his grappling gun again, narrowly missing another small explosive that sent pieces of metal flying in every direction. Landing on the floor, he was swiftly met by a ninja dressed in black from head to toe, ducking just in time to avoid a boot to his face.

The assailant quickly pulled back, settling into a crouch to see what the Dark Knight would do next. Batman instantly began sizing him up, taking note of his size, his dark eyes, and the way that he carried himself, mentally comparing him to all the villains that he'd fought over the years.

This one was definitely someone new.

Before Batman could strike, however, the ninja suddenly straightened up, bowing his head almost reverentially before throwing a smoke bomb to the ground. The Cape Crusader quickly put on his gas mask before charging through the thick clouds of gray smoke to find the ninja was gone.

He quickly searched the area, finally finding Robin sitting on the ground behind some crates holding the back of his head. "Are you alright?" Batman asked as he knelt beside his partner, removing his gas mask.

"Yah, I'll live," Robin grumbled as he got to his feet while rubbing his head. "He got the drop on me."

"Go home and have Alfred check your head," Batman told him. "I'll take care of everything here."

"What if that ninja dude comes back?"

"He won't," Batman stated as he began to make his way to the body.

"How do you know?"

"Because he had a chance to attack me and he didn't," he rasped. "He also could've killed you, but he didn't."

"Did you recognize him?"

"No, never seen him before," Batman shook his head. "And you're stalling. Go home."

"Don't you need help with securing the crime scene?"

"I can do it myself," he maintained. "Now go home before I have your mother come get you."

Robin instantly froze. "You wouldn't," he gasped in abject horror at the thought of Diana showing up and carrying him home, suddenly changing his tune when Batman turned and leveled him with a patent bat glare. "Yes, you would. Fine…I'm leaving. See you later."

Batman watched as Tim left before finally turning his attention back to the crime scene before him. There was definitely a new player in Gotham with a game that he had no clue about yet. The fact that this had all started at the same time as Darren Strong's sudden appearance in Gotham was not lost on him.

Leaning over the dead body, he was stunned to find that he actually recognized the man lying before him. It was Johnny Phong, one of the Penguin's better henchmen. He hadn't seen him in months, leading him to wonder what had become of him.

Now he finally knew.

He lightly ran a gauntleted finger over the crusted black substance that had created a ring around the large gaping hole in Phong's chest. He had come across it on the previous three bodies that he'd discovered, but never to this degree. There was twice as much black residue this time compared to the last three.

He pulled a pair of tweezers from his utility belt, taking more samples of the unusual substance to take back to the batcave to study some more. Whatever was used to kill these men, it definitely wasn't from some sort of gun and it wasn't from a ninja.

XXX

Diana closed the bedroom door behind her, leaving Bruce to finish getting dressed for work. He'd been up all night dealing with another murder in Gotham, not coming to bed at all to warm her up like he'd promised, leaving her a little disappointed but she understood.

After kissing her good morning, he had asked her, though, to look over his notes for him on the four murders. He wanted to go over it together later when they returned from the Watchtower after their founder's meeting this afternoon.

It warmed her heart that he was letting her in a little more where Gotham was concerned, allowing her to review his more difficult cases for him. It wasn't exactly helping him with patrol like she had hoped to do, but it was something and she definitely wouldn't complain about it.

Bruce had once told her how much he valued having another set of eyes that he could trust, appreciating her ability to see things in a way that added another facet to his investigations. She was thankful that she had been blessed by Athena so she could help her husband in this way.

Diana smiled to herself as the sudden sound of Nicholas's chattering voice met her ears. She wondered if her son had any idea what he was saying as he jabbered to himself, giggling here and there as she made her way to his bedroom.

Opening the door, Diana instantly froze in her tracks, her eyes wide with shock at what she found. "Bruce!" she cried. "Bruce, come quick!"

Hearing her cry, Bruce raced to Nicholas's room, his tie hanging lose around his dress shirt collar and fear swelling in his chest as he entered. "Diana, what…" his voice suddenly broke off in stunned disbelief as his eyes settled on the surreal scene before him.

Nicholas sat there on the floor in the middle of his bedroom with all of his toys scattered in piles all around him. He grinned up at his parents with great pride at what he had accomplished, pointing at all of his toys and jabbering happily.

"Oh…Hera…" Diana gasped under her breath in shock.

Stunned, Bruce slowly walked towards his son, pausing to turn his attention back to Diana who still stood frozen in the doorway. "How in the world did he get out of his crib?"

"I have no idea," she slowly shook her head.

"Which one of your gods did he get this blessing from?" he frowned, staring at the empty crib and wondering how in hell he'd been able to escape without hurting himself.

"What's going on in here?" Tim asked as he entered, coming to an abrupt stop beside Diana as his eyes fell on the mess on the floor with Nicholas sitting in the middle of it. "Whoa! Nick! You go, little bat!"

Diana closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath as she tried to process all of this, knowing that Tim was definitely not helping to diffuse the tenuous situation. "I guess maybe…Hermes…possibly Ares," she suggested.

"All I have to say is I told you so," Tim triumphantly said before turning and leaving the room. His snickering could be heard clear down the hallway.

Diana made her way to Bruce, her hand finding his and interlacing her fingers with his. "Bruce, I promise…it'll be alright."

He released a ragged breath, running his fingers back through his hair as he turned to look at his son who had crawled over to him and was tugging on his pant leg. Releasing Diana's hand, he knelt down and picked him up, holding him close. His son snuggled into his father's hold, warming Bruce's heart like only Nicholas could do.

"Are you upset?" Diana tentatively asked, worry filling her eyes.

"No," he admitted with a weary sigh after a few moments of contemplation. "Worried…yes, but that doesn't mean that I love him any less. He's still our son, Diana, and he's perfect no matter what."

"I agree," she confessed, running her fingers through Nicholas's short black hair that was so much like his father's. "I just wish that it hadn't come quite so soon. He's just a little boy, too young to have to deal with super powers already."

"I know, but we'll handle it," he reassured her.

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"I'm going to have to create a special tracking device for him so we'll know where he is in the Manor at all times, revamp the entire security system to account for his new abilities."

Bruce wrapped his free arm around Diana, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. "I'm sorry, Bruce," she sighed as she leaned into his embrace. "I know you were worried about our children being superheroes someday."

"It will always worry me, but it doesn't make me love our children any less. It just makes me that much more determined to protect them, to fight that much harder to make sure they have a world filled with peace to protect instead of having to fight the filth that we face on a daily basis."

"I love you, Bruce Wayne," she smiled at him, pride shining like diamonds in her cobalt blue eyes.

"I love you too, Princess," he smiled, leaning in and kissing her deeply.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Diana suddenly materialized in a bright array of light on the transportation pad of the Watchtower with Nicholas in her arms. He kicked his legs excitedly when he saw Mr. Terrific sitting at the desk running the transporter system. He always got so animated when he accompanied her up here, his eyes wide with fascination as he tried to take everything in, seeing all the people that had become family.

"Thanks, Mr. T," Diana smiled.

"You're more than welcome, Wonder Woman," Mr. T smiled in response before turning his attention to Nicholas. "Hey there, little bro. Good to see you too."

Diana exited the transporter room, making her way through the long winding corridors. She liked to bring her son to work with her whenever she could, not only because she loved knowing he was nearby when she was working, but also to give Alfred a little bit of a break.

Alfred had his hands full as it was running a household and looking after three superheroes without having a baby to take care of as well. As much as Alfred loved taking care of Nicholas, she still liked to give him a break so he could have some time to himself.

They were definitely going to have to come up with a game plan for after their daughter was born. She knew she was going to have to cut back on her duties with the Justice League even more at least until her children began attending school.

Entering the conference room, Diana found Kal already there going over the agenda for this afternoon's meeting just like she knew he would be. Nicholas immediately squealed at the sight of the Man of Steel, kicking his legs eagerly in an effort to get to him.

Clark looked up to see Diana kneeling down to set Nicholas on the floor. "Go get Uncle Clark, my little warrior," she encouraged him with a proud motherly smile.

Nicholas swiftly crawled towards the Kryptonian who got out of his chair to kneel on the floor as well. "Hey there, buddy," Clark grinned, holding his hands out to him. "How's my favorite godson?"

"That's a very loaded question, Kal," Diana wearily sighed as she watched her best friend swing her son high up into the air before pulling him into an affectionate hug.

"Why is that?" he asked, unable to contain his laughter as Nicholas tried grabbing his nose. "Is something wrong with him?"

"Well, no…not really…thank Hera," Diana replied as she plopped down into a chair. "I just went into his room this morning to get him up for the day only to find him sitting on the floor in the middle of his bedroom with all of his toys scattered around him."

"What?" Clark exclaimed in shock. "How did he get out of his crib?"

"That's what we'd like to know," Diana frowned, folding her arms against her chest. "One of my gods or goddesses has decided to bless him with a gift. The problem is I don't know who or what the blessing actually is yet."

"Well, some of it would have to be enhanced strength for him to be able to crawl out of his crib without hurting himself or maybe strength combined with speed or flight," Clark suggested. "Either way, I have a feeling he's going to be quite a force to be reckoned with when he grows up."

"I guess so," she drew a ragged breath, her tilted back against the headrest of her chair as she stared up at the ceiling.

"What's the matter, Di?" Clark asked as he settled into a chair next to her with Nicholas who was currently completely fascinated with the Man of Steel's red cape. "You knew it was a definite possibility that your son would be gifted like you."

"I know," she admitted, looking over at Nicholas who had somehow managed to pull a part of Kal's cape over his head to hide himself from Uncle Clark. "It's just…he's my little boy, Kal. He's still so young. Isn't it a lot to handle at his age?"

Clark smiled at her as he pulled his cape off of Nicholas's head who giggled a contagious belly laugh at the superhero. "I grew up with super powers and my parents managed to survive it," he reminded her. "How's Bruce handling it?"

"A lot better than I would've thought," she confessed. "He's going to have Lucius help him create a special tracking device for Nicholas so we know where he's at in the Manor at all times in case he gets away from us. He's also revamping the entire security program and installing a new security camera system."

"Is that all?" Clark laughed, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He knew he really shouldn't be.

"He's just being cautious," Diana replied, defending her husband. She smiled as Nicholas cuddled into Kal's chest, yawning. He and Kal had always been the best of friends ever since Nicholas had been born. It warmed her heart. "Besides, you know how fiercely protective Bruce is of the ones he loves."

"Nicholas looks more and more like Bruce every day," Kal thoughtfully remarked as he held the little boy up above his head. "Are you giving your mom and dad fits already, buddy?" Nicholas giggled and chewed on his fingers as Clark tossed him into the air.

"How's Lois doing?"

"Feisty as ever," Clark beamed with pride at the mention of his wife. "You know Lois. Not even being pregnant could slow her down. She insists on working until the very moment she actually delivers our baby."

"I can't comment on that," Diana laughed. "I was the exact same way. Drove Bruce absolutely crazy. It's a wonder I didn't give him a heart attack by the time Nicholas was born."

"Who had a heart attack?"

Both superheroes looked up to see Flash and J'onn enter followed closely by John and Shayera. Nicholas pointed excitedly at the superheroes that were filing in; jabbering away to Clark like the Kryptonian could understand what he was saying to him.

"No one had a heart attack…at least not yet," Diana replied as she stood to her feet, taking her son from Kal.

Nicholas immediately began to cry at having been taken away from his best friend, tears trickling down his cheeks as he reached out for Clark to save him. "I'm sorry, Nicholas," Clark consoled him. "I promise I'll come by to see you soon."

Diana held her son close as he cried, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. "He's way past due for his nap," she said as she turned to walk towards the door.

"Wait!" Flash called, speeding over to the Amazon. "Can I take him to daycare? Please, Wondy?"

"I don't know, Flash," Diana smirked, patting Nicholas's back as she tried to calm his down. "Aren't you still on probation with Bruce?"

"I'm not at the Manor," Flash bit out in annoyance. "Besides, it's just down the hall. Come on, Wondy. I've really missed the little guy."

"Alright," she relented as she handed her crying son over to the Scarlet Speedster. "But he needs his diaper changed when you get there."

"Wow!" Flash grimaced, his masked face screwed up into an expression of pure disgust. "You're not kidding."

"I thought maybe I had smelled something suspicious earlier," Clark grinned.

"You should've!" Flash cried. "You've got a super nose. If you can't smell this then there's definitely something wrong with you, Supes. Why do I always end up with the dirty diapers?"

"You offered to take him, Wally," Diana reminded him.

"It's alright, Bat Junior," Flash hugged the whimpering little boy affectionately. "Uncle Flash will take care of you."

Flash quickly sped towards the door only to run directly into a black wall with a cape, pointed ears, and a snarl fierce enough to make a grown man cry like a little baby. The Speedster quickly took a very large step back, his eyes wide with sudden fear.

"Where are you taking my son?" Batman rasped in that deep intimidating voice that made hardened criminals wet their pants.

"Well, you see…um, Wondy…she had Nicholas and Supes smelled bad…I mean Nicholas…and I volunteered…and that's about it," Wally gulped, his pulse racing.

"Dada," Nicholas sniffled, his face streaked with tears as he reached for his father, still upset from being separated from Clark.

Batman took his son into his arms, kissing his temple and wrinkling his nose at the offending smell as Nicholas snuggled sleepily into his father's arms. "Hey there, little man," Bruce gently said. "Are you keeping Flash in line for me?"

Nicholas suddenly reached up, grabbing at his father's mask, curiously tilting his head as he tried to figure out how to get it off. Bruce pretended to nibble at his fingers making him squeal and giggle.

"Here, Flash needs to change your diaper," he told his son, handing him back over to Wally. "If Nicholas isn't in daycare and you're not back here in exactly five minutes, I will personally hunt you down and make you bleed."

"You got it!" Flash said as he took Nicholas into his arms before racing from the room.

Without saying a word, Batman walked over to take his seat next to Diana. "Let's get this start," he brusquely stated. "I've got a murder spree in Gotham to investigate."

"Anything we might be able to help you wi…" Clark's voice suddenly broke off with the severe bat glare that Batman leveled at him. "Right…anyways, I thought that we'd start off with a review of the mission reports for the last week. I want to see if we can find any ways to improve how we handle our missions."

The doors suddenly swished open as Flash returned, a proud expression on his face as he sat down in his chair. "Nick is changed and already fast asleep in his crib."

"You didn't feed him ice cream this time did you?" Batman asked without even looking up from his tablet in his hand.

"No," Flash sardonically stated. "I learned my lesson the last time thank you very much."

Flash stuck his tongue out at the Caped Crusader who was still focused on the tablet in his hands or at least he thought. "You do that again and you'll be wearing your tongue as a neck tie," Batman coolly threatened him without looking up.

Flash instantly sat up straighter in his chair, looking at the others and wondering how on earth he'd even seen him do that. "That is just too creepy," Flash hissed as he leaned over and whispered to Green Lantern. "How does he do that?"

"I can hear you," Batman stated.

Flash nearly swallowed his tongue, sinking lower in his seat. Superman suppressed the laugh that fought for release, the look of fear on Wally's face priceless. He watched as Batman cast a sidelong glance at Diana who had playfully slapped his arm for scaring poor Flash like that. Bruce just smirked in response to his Princess who was chuckling beside him.

"Alright, let's start with…" Clark began.

Batman suddenly spoke up, interrupting the Man of Steel. "I have an announcement to make before we begin the meeting."

Bruce could feel Diana physically bristle beside him with what he was about to say. He knew he hadn't done a very good job of announcing her pregnancy to the founders the last time, completely screwing it up, but he was more than determined to make it up to her and do a better job of it this time.

Shayera gave Diana a knowing smile while Diana drew a deep breath in anticipation, bracing herself for the worst but still hoping for the best nonetheless. Hopefully, Bruce had learned a little tact this time around.

"I know I failed miserably the last time as you all so kindly informed me so hopefully I'll get it right this time," Batman began. "I'm proud to say that Diana has made me the happiest man in the world once again. We're going to have a daughter.

"And Flash…you are not allowed to babysit. In fact, I don't want you anywhere near my daughter for that matter. Ever."

The Scarlet Speedster's mouth fell open to respond only to abruptly close it with the Dark Knight's last words that were directed at him. "So Diana is officially on maternity leave as of this moment," he said, turning towards his wife. "Sorry, Princess, but I'm grounding you again."

"I was expecting it this time," Diana sighed.

"Congratulations you two," Clark beamed with excitement.

"Well, that explains why Wondy looks so terrible," Flash quipped, not realizing what he had just said out loud.

Batman leveled him with a bat glare, grinding his teeth in irritation. Flash visibly blanched, withering beneath the deadly glower directed towards him. "I mean not that you could ever look bad because you're Wondy…" Wally quickly attempted to amend. "I mean come on…look at you, Di. You're like drop-dead sexy. Any guy would die for even just one chance at you. Hell, you know I'd love to…"

A low fierce growl and a groaned "Wally" from under Green Lantern's breath told Flash that he had better stop right this moment while he was still alive and able to walk. "Sorry…I mean…congratulations you two," he muttered.

"Alright, if Flash is done putting both of his feet in his mouth," Clark said as he shot Wally a disapproving frown. "We'll get started with the meeting."

XXX

"Well, I can pick up extra monitor duty shifts if that would help," Diana offered. She could feel Batman instantly grow tense beside her.

"Princess," Batman hissed her name under his breath.

"It's not like I'll be going out on missions or anything," Diana insisted. "I can still do something to help around here."

"You've been pretty sick with this pregnancy," he reminded her. "I don't want you overdoing it."

"I'll be fine," she reassured him. "Shayera, I can take some extra monitor shifts to help out."

Diana could hear Bruce growl from his seat next to her. She was certain she'd be hearing about it later when they got home, but she was more than determined to pull her weight around here. She was pregnant, not crippled.

A message suddenly came across her tablet at that exact moment. [We are definitely discussing this when we get home, Princess.]

Diana fought back a smirk as she sent her response. [I would have been more shocked if we didn't.]

[You need to rest. You look exhausted.]

[I'm fine. And don't bother with the discussion when we get home. You know I always win.]

She heard a sort snort from the black clad superhero beside her, making her smile to herself. [I believe we already have a war going on that is still unfinished.]

[I thought you'd forgotten all about it.]

[I still have the red panties and bra you left for me.]

[I still owe you for giving me the cold shoulder for a nearly a week. You almost drove me insane.]

[How was I supposed to know you were pregnant?]

"Batman, do you have anything further to add?" Clark asked, interrupting Bruce's private conversation with his wife.

"No, I believe you covered it all," Batman emotionlessly answered. "I'll have the upgrades to the computers installed by the end of next week."

"Sounds good. Well then, I think that's everything on the agenda," Clark said, scrolling through his tablet. "If no one has anything else then we're adjourned."

"Jessica to Wonder Woman."

"Wonder Woman here," Diana said as her communicator suddenly went off, her brow furrowing with instant worry.

"Diana, could you please come down to the daycare? We have a little…problem…with Nicholas."

"What is it?" Diana demanded to know.

"Well, you'll just have to see for yourself when you get here."

"I'm on my way," Diana stated, leaping to her feet.

She was brought to a sudden stop by a hand on her forearm. "Diana, what is it?" Batman asked, sensing her alarm.

"It's Nicholas," she worriedly replied, fear instantly swimming in her eyes.

"Let's go," he told her as he followed her to the door of the conference room.

"Bruce, you can't go down there," Diana reminded him. "They'll figure out you're Bruce Wayne and Nicholas's father if you go down there too."

"But he's my son," he insisted. "I don't care about…"

"I'll go too," Shayera suddenly offered as she came to stand beside them. "That way it'll just look like Batman and I are coming to help you."

"Alright," Diana released an anxious breath, fear gripping her heart. She couldn't bear it if something happened to her son.

The trio quickly made their way down to the daycare; nervous about what they would find when they arrived. They paused as Bruce punched in the security code to enter, the doors swooshing open to allow them entrance.

"Jessica, what's wrong?" Diana demanded as she raced into the room, making a beeline for the daycare manager.

Jessica had a look of stunned disbelief on her face as she stared at Diana at the same time that she pointed upward. All three superheroes looked up to find Nicholas floating in the air just below the ceiling, a grin on his face as he looked down at his parents, Hawkgirl, and Jessica.

"Oh, Hera," Diana breathed as she stared up at her son. This just kept getting worse and worse.

"How in hell…" Batman began, his hands curling into anxious fists as he studied his son.

Shayera, however, bit her lip as she covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to stifle the giggle that rose up in her throat. "I think you've got this handled, Di. I'm just going over there to check on Rex while I'm here," she managed to say, doing her best to keep her amusement from her voice but failing miserably.

Diana quickly looked over at Bruce who was still staring at their son. It was one thing to find him out of his crib with all of his toys scattered around him. It was a completely different thing to find him on the ceiling.

"I'll get him down," Diana finally told Jessica. "I'm really sorry about this. Thank you for contacting me."

Jessica just nodded her head, thankful that the Amazon wasn't furious with her or blamed her for losing her son. She quickly made her way to the other side of the room where some children were already eating their afternoon snack, oblivious to the fact that their playmate was on the ceiling.

"Bruce…" Diana began.

"Nicholas Wayne get down here this instant," Bruce growled, keeping his voice low so the daycare workers wouldn't hear him.

"No…Dada," Nicholas shook his head with a grin.

"No?" Bruce repeated in shock, his mouth hanging open as he turned to look at Diana. "When did he learn that?"

"I have no idea," Diana replied, turning to look at her husband.

"I'll get him down," Bruce said, his hand going for his grappling gun.

"Bruce!" Diana hissed in a low threatening tone, her hand clamping down over his and keeping him from drawing his gun. "Don't you dare shoot that thing at our son!"

"It's completely safe," he frowned at her. "I'll just wrap it around his ankle and pull him down."

"Let me handle it," she told him. "I'll get him down."

Diana rose in the air to get her son, a sense of pride welling in her heart despite the alarm that still lingered there. "Come on, Nicholas," she cooed. "Come to mommy, sweetheart."

Bruce watched with bated breath as Nicholas grinned at his mother, shaking his head no. It was obvious he had no idea how to control his new abilities as he flailed his limbs. Diana quickly reached out, taking him into her arms and holding him against her as she lowered herself to the ground.

"Thank you for your help, Batman," Diana calmly said, her eyes silently telling him it was alright.

"I'm just glad he's safe. Let me know if you need anything," he told her before quickly turning on his heel and leaving the daycare center when all he wanted was to hold his son at that moment. That would have to wait for later now.

Diana held Nicholas, her heart still hammering in her chest. She had been so afraid that something had happened to him. While this was something they'd have to learn to deal with, she was relieved that it hadn't been anything serious.

"Is he alright?" Shayera asked as she approached with Rex in her arms.

"Yes, he's fine," Diana nodded her head. "Thank you, Shay."

"No problem," she replied, patting her son's back. "I can't wait until it's my turn. I can only imagine what trouble Rex will get into when his abilities begin to surface."

Diana smiled with relief, grateful to know that she and Bruce weren't the only ones who would be going through this. It brought her unexpected comfort knowing they were not alone in this. She could hardly wait to see what was in store for John and Shayera with Rex. She could only imagine what Kal and Lois were in for when their baby was born.

XXX

Batman made his way towards the infirmary, knowing that Diana would be heading there with their son soon. They had an appointment with J'onn after the founder's meeting to run more tests on Nicholas to see what they could discover about his new abilities as well as getting something for Diana's nausea and vomiting.

He couldn't help the panic that still swam inside of him, rising up like his buried demons of old telling him that life was spiraling out of his control once more. He had told Diana the truth this morning when he had said that he loved his children no matter what, regardless of their super abilities. They were still his children and he couldn't possibly love them anymore than he already did.

At the same time, he couldn't deny the innate overriding drive inside to protect them at all cost, to make sure that they never had to go through anything remotely close to the horrifying trauma that he'd been forced to endure.

"Batman."

Bruce paused, turning to find Clark running to catch up to him. "Hey, how's Nicholas? Is he alright?"

"He's flying now," Bruce bit out, still trying to come to terms with all that it meant now. He was going to have to find a way to keep his son grounded.

"What?"

"When we got to the daycare, he was on the ceiling," Batman stated.

Superman did his best to rein in his amusement, remembering the looks on his own parents' faces when he began to fly. "Bruce," he said, pulling Batman to a stop. "I promise it'll be alright."

Batman drew a ragged breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. He'd been up all night, going over thirty hours now with no sleep. He had four murders on his hands and a possible new crime lord in Gotham that may or may not be Darren Strong. He'd just discovered this morning that his son could escape his crib and now he had just found him on the ceiling of the Watchtower daycare. It had definitely been a very long day.

"I don't know how to deal with this," Bruce softly admitted. "I've never had a child with super powers before. I don't even know how to begin to handle this, Clark."

"You'll be just fine," Clark reassured him. "You and Diana are great parents, Bruce. You just need to show him love and understanding, help him to understand the gifts that he's been given."

"How can I help him understand it when I don't even completely understand it myself?"

"You don't have to understand it, Bruce," Superman smiled at him. "You just have to love him, support him."

"I do love him…more than I had ever thought was possible," he confessed. "This doesn't change that. I have just always had a contingency plan for everything, for every situation, but this…this is…"

His voice broke off as he struggled to put his thoughts and emotions into words. He felt so inadequate to be Nicholas's father, to be able to protect him and take care of him when he didn't even fully understand what was happening with him.

Clark placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "Just be there for him," he encouraged him. "That's what my parents did for me and I think I turned out alright."

"Yes, but how did they handle it? How did they keep you safe?" Bruce pressed. "I can't afford for anyone to find out that Bruce Wayne has a son with super powers. My family already has a target on its back because of who Diana is and it scares the hell out of me.

I'm terrified someone is going to decide to try to take Diana from me in some insane attempt at making a name for themselves, wanting to be the one to take down the powerful Wonder Woman. Do you understand how much worse it'll be if our enemies find out that our son also has super powers?"

Even through the black cowl and white lenses Clark could see the real fear that his friend lived with every moment of every day. He hadn't realized how deep those fears truly ran, hadn't actually thought about it until this very moment and he was completely right.

They did live with a constant target on their backs...all of them did. So would Lois and his child if it was ever discovered that Lois was married to Superman. It sent an icy chill racing through him that nearly buckled the Man of Steel's knees.

"I understand, Bruce," he sympathized. "That's why we rely on each other to keep each other safe and to watch each others' backs. Don't forget that we're all here for you just like I know that you and Diana are there are for all of us.

"Don't forget that you're never alone. If you ever need advice, I'm here for you."

Bruce slowly nodded his head, thankful for his friend's advice and reassurance. At the same time, he was feeling very uncomfortable, remembering how much he loathed these touchy-feely moments even if he was feeling a little better now. He wasn't one to just share his feelings, pouring his heart out like this. He didn't want Clark to get used to it either.

"Thanks," Batman gruffly replied as he swiftly turned, making his way to the infirmary.

Clark smiled to himself, shaking his head as he watched Batman walk away. "You're welcome," he muttered more to himself than to the Dark Knight.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Diana materialized on the white sandy shores of Themyscira, immediately feeling a sense of warmth and comfort rise up within her with being home and yet it was no longer her home any more. Her real home was with Bruce and her family in Gotham, her family on the Watchtower.

She momentarily closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath as she absorbed the clean scent of the salty ocean air, felt the soft misting spray of the water on her skin. Themyscira was truly paradise in every way.

She was so thankful that her mother had lifted her ban on returning to Themyscira. Nicholas's birth had changed her mother, opening her eyes to what she was missing out on by deciding to adhere to the old ways of the Amazons, choosing foolish laws over family.

"My little sun and stars, what brings you here?" Queen Hippolyta's voice sudden broke through her momentary reverie, the concern etched into her tone not lost on the Amazon Princess.

Opening her eyes, Diana watched as her mother approached her. "Mother, it's so good to see you," she greeted her as she was swiftly enveloped in the Queen's arms.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Hippolyta asked, pulling back to study her daughter. "How are you feeling? Is my granddaughter alright?"

Diana groaned a little with the reminder. "She's…good..."

"You're struggling with sickness, aren't you?" she questioned her. "I can see it in your face. You look much too thin."

Diana smiled inwardly. Mother always knew. "It's been harder this time around for some reason," she admitted, her hand absentmindedly falling to her stomach and the queasiness that seemed to never truly leave her.

"I'm afraid that Amazons are not immune to the travails of being impregnated by a man," she informed her daughter, putting her arm around her and leading her in the direction of the palace.

"But Amazons aren't supposed to get sick," Diana shook her head.

"No, not normally, but when we were given this island sanctuary by the gods, not only were men banned from this place, but also if an Amazon were to be impregnated by a man, she would endure great difficulties during her pregnancy."

"Thank you for agreeing to those rules, mother," Diana rolled her eyes.

"I had no idea at the time that I would end up having a headstrong daughter who would chose to leave the ways of the Amazons to join Man's World," Hippolyta said. "Or that she would choose to love a man and have his baby."

Diana cast s sidelong glance at her mother, knowing that deep down there would always be a part of her that was hurt by Diana's decision to leave Themyscira. She really couldn't begrudge her for that. She knew it would be beyond difficult when her own children grew up to let them make their own decisions one day, watching them go out on their own.

"So, how is my little Nicholas?" Hippolyta asked. "Why didn't you bring him with you?"

"He is growing up so fast," Diana affectionately smiled as she thought about her beautiful son who was so much like his father. "I hope to bring him here for a visit soon. Unfortunately, this visit is to get some answers."

"What kind of answers?"

Diana released a weary breath as they approached the palace, nodding her head to her sisters standing guard. "Nicholas has begun to show signs of being gifted," she informed her mother. "Unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure what gifts he's been given or by which gods."

"What has he done so far?"

"Well, he had gotten out of his crib a few days ago all by himself," she admitted. "I found him sitting on the floor of his bedroom. He had managed to get all of his toys out and had them spread out all over the floor."

Hippolyta couldn't contain her laughter, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "I wish I could have seen that. I can only imagine the expression on your face."

"Yes, I'm sure," Diana frowned. "Bruce and I were both more than shocked that morning, but there's more."

"What else happened?"

"We found him on the ceiling of the daycare on the Watchtower," she replied, rubbing her forehead as she recalled the events of that day.

Again, laughter spilled from the Amazon Queen's lips as they made their way to Hippolyta's private receiving chambers. Diana shot her mother a heated look, one that spoke of her frustration.

"Mother, this is not funny," Diana bit out, folding her arms against her chest as she paused to look out of a nearby window. "What am I going to do? How do I keep him safe?"

"The same that I did," the Queen said as she took a seat.

"What?" Diana turned to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you know how many times I found you floating in the air inside the palace?" she chuckled softly. "You were always escaping from your bassinet or your room. My little sun and stars, I'm afraid that little Nicholas got it from you."

"You're kidding me, right?" Diana gasped in shock.

"Of course, I'm not saying that Hermes might not have had a hand in Nicholas's new gifts, but you weren't much different, Diana," Hippolyta grinned. "I have to say it's a little vindicating to know that my daughter is enduring the very same things that you put me through when you were a child."

"Mother!" Diana cried in stunned disbelief. "I'm pulling my hair out with worry over my son and you find this humorous and vindicating?"

"I'm sorry, my dear," Hippolyta apologized as she shook her head, fighting back the smile that refused to disappear. "I know it's difficult and a bit of a shock, but I know that you and Bruce will be able to handle it all."

"I need to know exactly what Nicholas has been blessed with and by which god or goddess," Diana stated. "I have to know what to expect so I can protect him and keep him safe. I mean what if he's floating on the ceiling and suddenly loses control and falls? He could be seriously hurt."

Hippolyta made her way to her daughter, taking her hands in her own and squeezing them. "Diana, our gods and goddesses wouldn't have given him a gift that he couldn't handle or somehow control in some fashion. They give blessings and gifts like this for a reason, not to bring harm."

Diana sighed heavily, knowing in her heart that her mother was right. "How did you handle it?"

"A lot of patience and prayers," Hippolyta smiled tenderly at her daughter, her hand coming to rest on her cheek. "If anyone can handle this, I know it is you, my Diana."

"Thank you, Mother," Diana smiled. "I hope so."

"The real question is how is poor Bruce handling all of this?" she asked, her smile growing again.

Diana chuckled softly, her eyes dancing with love and pride that did not go unnoticed by her mother. "He's handling it much better than I had expected," she replied. "In fact, I think I'm having a harder time dealing with it then he is."

It was Hippolyta's turn to be surprised. "Really?"

Diana nodded her head. "He's working on a tracer for Nicholas so we know where he's at all the time," she told her. "I'm not sure what he's going to do about the whole flying thing yet."

"I'm impressed that Bruce is handling all of this so well," the Queen admitted. "Truthfully, I had secretly feared how he would react to his child being blessed by the gods. I know how much he strives for complete control in every aspect of his life, always planning for every eventuality. I'm sure it is difficult for him in some ways that he hasn't admitted to you yet."

"I agree, but we'll deal with this together," Diana reassured her. "We love each other and our children. I know we'll find our way through this."

"Come, let's get you something to eat and we'll prepare for afternoon prayers," Hippolyta suggested. "Maybe we can find some answers for you."

"I'd like that," Diana agreed. "I just hope lunch will stay where it should for once."

XXX

Taking a sip of his iced tea, Bruce Wayne stared at the man sitting across the table from him, the one who had occupied almost every one of his waking thoughts ever since their first meeting. His opinion of him since then had changed and definitely not for the better.

"I have to admit that I'm quite excited about your interest in my proposal," Darren Strong said with a confident grin. "I'm eager to move forward with this just as soon as humanly possible."

"Before I agree to proceed, I'm going to need more information," Bruce replied, his voice holding a definite edge to it despite his pleasant smile.

Darren leaned forwards to rest his forearms on the table, clasping his hands together in eager anticipation. "I'll tell you anything you want to know, Bruce. I'm an open book."

Bruce appraised him for a long moment, his piercing blue eyes seeming to burn right through him in an effort to peel back the layers of smug deception and insulting behavior to get at the real man underneath it all, the real Darren Strong.

Most men would have wavered beneath such a scrutinizing intense gaze, averting their eyes or nervously fidgeting, but Darren remained calm and engaged, unfazed by it.

There was definitely more to this very complicated man, much more than what Darren was allowing people to see and Bruce was more than determined to get to the heart of it. He had a feeling that Darren's arrogance and brashness was all just an act, concealing something much bigger.

"Why the sudden change?" Bruce questioned him. "Why take a company specifically ensconced in electronics and suddenly decide to branch off into genetics and biological R & D?"

"Understandable question," Darren thoughtfully said as he pondered his response. "I know it seems like an implausible leap, but really it isn't to me. It actually isn't something that came about suddenly. I've always had a great interest in both fields, but started out making my money in electronics. I'm just ready to broaden my company, to help others who are less fortunate and make their lives better."

Studying his face, Bruce decided that probably was the most honest answer he'd received from the man since first meeting him. He had a feeling that he had just hit upon something here, but didn't have time to truly analyze it. He was going to have to delve deeper into it later when he had time to really focus on the conversation.

"I want to tour your facility and there are several other details that will need to be worked out before I agree to any sort of alliance between our two companies," Bruce told him.

"Of course…of course, whatever you want," Darren readily nodded his head in excitement.

Bruce leaned forward as well, his mind racing with more questions, but they would have to wait for now. It felt like he was playing a game of chess every time he spoke with him, each trying to gauge the other, predict the next move and outwit his opponent.

"So the main focus of this project will be neuromuscular research and testing with future expansion into bionic prosthetic limb development."

"Yes, that's the deal," Darren replied, his green eyes dancing with something that Bruce couldn't quite put his finger on. Whatever it was, it made the fine hairs on the back of his neck prickle.

"I admit it does sound very interesting."

"I can't tell you how happy I am about your interest in my new venture," Darren grinned. "To be able to work with the great Bruce Wayne is a dream come true for me. I've followed your life extensively, studied what has made you so successful."

"That's…flattering…in a creepy kind of way," Bruce frowned, not the least bit impressed with this tidbit of information. He knew that Darren had shown great interest in him and his family, but to know he'd studied his life was altogether different. How much had discovered about him?

Darren immediately sat up straighter, holding his hands up in defense. "I assure you I'm not a stalker or anything," he quickly amended. "I enjoy studying the lives of successful people; learn what makes them tick and what drives them to succeed."

"And what drives you, Darren?" the billionaire asked, his gaze narrowing as he made his next move.

He watched as the man stiffened slightly, apparently uncomfortable with the question. "Money…success," he finally simply said. "Isn't that what drives everyone? What makes this country great? It's the chance to realize a dream and accumulate as much wealth as possible before you die, being free to do whatever you want with it."

"He who has the most toys when he dies wins?"

"Exactly," Darren arrogantly smirked. "I'm already one of the youngest multi-millionaires in the United States. Before I'm done, though, I'll surpass you, Bruce."

"That's quite a lofty goal," Bruce stated. "I admire your ambition, but you know there is more to life than money and success."

"That's easy to say when you have all the money you could ever want," Darren shot back, taking a sip of his scotch. "And a sexy Amazon superhero for a wife on your arm doesn't hurt either, does it?"

It was Bruce's turn to stiffen now. "She is pretty amazing," he admitted, ignoring the meal that he'd ordered. He'd suddenly lost his appetite. "She makes life worth living…worth fighting for. I'd do anything for her."

"How is Diana feeling?" Darren asked as he cut his steak. "I hope her pregnancy goes smoother."

"She's doing well," he brusquely answered. "Thank you for your concern."

"Maybe Diana would like to come with you to tour my company," Darren offered as he took a bite. "I'd love to show her the new facility I've built for this project…and you too, of course."

"Of course," Bruce bit out. "I'm not sure if she'll be available or not. She's quite busy between the Justice League and the numerous charities that she works so hard to support."

Darren stared at him with a stunned expression. "She's still active with the Justice League even though she's pregnant? Isn't that dangerous?"

"She's not on active duty at the moment, but still has responsibilities that require her attention," Bruce coolly informed him, refusing to divulge any more information.

"Fascinating," Darren shook his head in wonder. "I'd love to have a tour of the Watchtower. I can only imagine how incredible it truly is."

"I'm not even allowed up there and I'm Diana's husband," he firmly told him. "Security reasons."

"Of course…understandable," Darren nodded. "Well, extend my invitation to Diana anyway. I'm quite anxious to see her again. She's quite a remarkable woman. I'd love to learn more about her as well."

"Indeed," Bruce frowned, his anger flaring inside of him. This man always managed to infuriate and stir his jealousy without divulging much of anything about himself at all. "So, do you have a remarkable woman of your own in your life?"

"No, unfortunately, I haven't found anyone nearly as amazing as Diana yet," he sighed. He seemed completely oblivious to his dinner guest's growing irritation with his references to the Amazon Princess.

"Come on, Darren," Bruce smirked. "Someone as charming and wealthy as you hasn't been able to sweep a pretty socialite off her feet yet?"

Darren chuckled something almost scornful, his green eyes suddenly darkening as his smile morphed into a scowl. "There was someone once, but it didn't exactly work out."

"What happened?"

"She decided that someone else was better to marry," he sneered, grabbing his glass of scotch and downing the remainder of the drink in one long gulp.

"Do you have any family? Brothers or sisters?"

Darren gazed at him coolly, his face revealing absolutely nothing. "None," he evenly stated. "I'm alone…like you used to be before Diana."

Bruce clenched his jaw, his insides twisting with the insinuation. "I was never truly alone," he bit out.

Darren's cell phone suddenly went off, abruptly ending the conversation. "Excuse me, Bruce," he apologized as he stood to his feet. "I really need to take this phone call."

"No problem," Bruce smiled pleasantly, watching as Darren got up and moved outside onto the open balcony to talk in private.

Bruce immediately leaned forward and took the empty scotch glass with his cloth napkin, holding it carefully so as not to smudge the fingerprints on it. "No problem at all," he murmured to himself as he studied the glass.

XXX

Sitting at his workstation in the batcave, Bruce poured over the information he'd gathered before him. Even though completely engrossed in the book he was reading, he still managed to notice his surrogate father entering from the stairway above.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said as he approached. "I thought you could use some more coffee before heading out on patrol."

"Thank you, Alfred," he absentmindedly replied without looking up.

Alfred set down the carafe of hot coffee on the desk beside the man, his gaze wondering over the countless books gathered on the table. Pausing, he picked up one of the volumes, reading the title printed in gold lettering on the spine.

"Brushing up on your Greek Mythology, Master Bruce?"

"Just on a certain Greek goddess who has decided to bless my unborn daughter," Bruce muttered as he jotted down some more notes.

"Ah, the beautiful siren Aphrodite," Alfred replied with mild amusement. "Goddess of beauty and love."

"And sex…don't forget sex, Alfred," Bruce ground out, the tension he held in his shoulders intensifying.

Alfred chuckled softly as he set the book down, earning a glare from his surrogate son. "I'm sorry, Master Bruce," he apologized with a wry smile. "It just seems somehow ironic that the man who used to play the personification of sex and debauchery will soon have a daughter blessed by the goddess of love."

"It was all just an act and you know it, Alfred," Bruce scowled as he paused to empty his coffee cup.

"Yes, I do realize it was all just a grand fabrication and yet the irony of it all is still quite amusing," Alfred pointed out as he refilled Bruce's coffee cup.

"It's not amusing in the least," Bruce bit out. "I'm not about to allow this blessing to happen."

"So what do you plan on doing?" Alfred asked. "Worry yourself sick until she's finally married off or petition a goddess to remove it knowing she could strike you dead in less than a blink of an eye?"

"You don't know that Aphrodite will strike me dead if I demand that she remove the blessing," Bruce shot back as he sank back in his chair to stare at his butler.

"Just because you're married to their beloved Champion does not make you immune to death," Alfred frowned. "Would it be so bad to have a daughter blessed by a goddess?"

"No…it's just that…"

"Would you love your child any less because she's been gifted with great beauty and love just like her mother?"

Bruce's scowl deepened the more Alfred talked. He knew where he was going with this and it annoyed him to no end. He somehow always managed to be right. "You know I love Diana…all of her," he ground out. "Her gifts make her who she is and…"

"Ah, exactly," Alfred smiled triumphantly. "Her gifts make Miss Diana who she is and is part of the reason you love her so deeply."

"Yes, but…"

"Would you love your children more if they weren't blessed?"

"You know that's not true," Bruce fumed. "I love my children regardless because they belong to Diana and me. They're the best of both of us."

"Then why try to change or remove something that is already a part of Diana and now your daughter as well?"

Bruce ground his teeth, his jaw clenched tightly. "How do you manage to always do that?"

"Do what, Master Bruce?" Alfred coyly asked with an innocent look on his face as he turned on his heel to leave.

Bruce drew a deep breath before finally gathering up his books and pushing them all aside, knowing he was going to have to find a way of coming to terms with Diana's gods bestowing blessings on his children. He had bigger things to worry about right now anyway.

Turning his attention back to his computer before him, he began to review the information that Diana and Oracle had found for him on Darren Strong. The more he studied it, the more he was beginning to believe that Aaron Armstrong and Darren Strong was indeed the same person.

The sudden sound of the transporter brought a small smile to his lips knowing that his wife was home. He had missed her. She had left early this morning for the Watchtower to help with inventory of the new shipment of supplies and then had gone to see her mother. He was more than relieved that she was finally home.

Stepping down off the transporter, Diana saw her husband sitting at his workstation preparing to go out on patrol. She hadn't gotten to see him since yesterday and was anxious to spend a little time with him before he left.

She silently slipped through the dark cave, more than determined to surprise him. Just as she approached the back of his chair, his deep baritone voice broke through the eerie silence.

"You know how I feel about you using the transporter when you're pregnant, Princess."

Diana rolled her eyes, knowing that she should've known that she'd never be able to sneak up on him. She leaned in, her hands finding his shoulders as she pressed her lips against his cheek. "Bruce, how many times do I have to tell you it's completely safe? Your company designed and made the transportation system."

"I'm still allowed to worry," he replied. "You're my wife and it's my baby you're carrying inside of you."

"You worry too much," she told him, leaning in to nibble on his earlobe. "We're both fine…although I could use some alone time with my husband."

A low moan escaped his mouth and filled her ears as her hand snaked around to rake her fingernails over his muscular chest through his fitted black t-shirt. She continued to use her teeth and tongue to tease his ear, driving him absolutely wild.

Bruce stopped typing, his breathing growing ragged as he lost himself to her. No one but her could ever awaken such an intense lust within him, one that he could never ignore nor did he ever want to.

He reached up behind him to grasp the back of her head, wanting more. He quickly turned, his lips finding hers in a heated rush as he pulled her into his lap. His hands roamed over her body and settling on her thigh as he kissed her breathless, finally pulling back for air after several long minutes.

"How are you feeling today?" he breathlessly asked, his large hand falling to her abdomen and caressing it lovingly. "Is my little Princess behaving herself?"

"She's alright," she smiled as she snuggled into his hold on her, resting her head on his shoulder as she kissed along his neck. "Lunch managed to stay down this time."

"I'm glad," he murmured, his lips searching for hers. "I've been worried about you."

"I'm fine, Bruce," she reassured him, her fingers absentmindedly playing with the short strands of hair that lay on the back of his neck. "You've got more than enough on your plate with Darren Strong and the murders in Gotham to worry about me."

"I'll always worry about you, Princess," he told her, love swimming in his eyes as he savored this quiet moment alone with her, a part of him wishing more than anything that he could just stay here with her tonight. "Nothing will ever change that."

"How did your lunch go with Darren?" she asked. "Did you find out any more about him?"

"Some," he replied. "I did get a glass with his fingerprints on it that I want to analyze tonight after I return from patrol."

"I was hoping to do some more research on Allison Armstrong tonight," Diana informed him. "I was thinking about paying her a visit tomorrow; see what I can find out from her."

"No way, Princess," he adamantly stated. "I don't want you involved in this anymore than you already are."

"How dangerous can it be, Bruce?" she frowned. "I'm a Meta; I think I can handle it. It's not like I'd be putting our baby in danger or going up against Cheetah or Giganta."

"But you're still my wife and you're carrying my daughter," he shot back. "Stay out of it, Diana."

"I don't need for you to protect me," she angrily snapped, getting to her feet in exasperation. "In case you've forgotten, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

"I know you are, Diana, but something very dangerous is going on with this Darren Strong and for some reason I think it may have something to do with you," he told her, his frustration rising as he stood as well. "I won't let him hurt you."

"Why would he have any interest in me?" she demanded to know.

"I don't know that yet, but I promise you that I'm going to find out," he heatedly stated, trying to rein in his fear as he closed the distance between them. "You can't get involved especially not now with the baby."

"You and me, Bruce," she glared hotly at him, poking him hard in the chest. "We're a team…not just as husband and wife or as parents, but as guardians fighting to keep Gotham and this world safe.

"I know you love me and you're scared, but don't start treating me like I'm some helpless female that you have to protect all the time. It's degrading and disrespectful and I won't stand for it."

Bruce watched as Diana suddenly turned on her heel and stormed away, leaving him standing there all alone. He clenched his fists in heated frustration, his anger simmering just beneath the surface begging for release.

He knew deep down that she was right, that he was being irrational and paranoid, but trying to convince his heart of that was another matter altogether.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know! I lost him again!"

"Over here!"

"No, he's over here!"

"Damn it!"

"Crap! He was here just a minute ago," Tim grumbled, his hands on his hips as he stared at the toilet paper that now lay in a huge white pile on the floor of the bathroom, the empty cardboard tube slowly coming to a rest on its holder.

"He's in the laundry room!" Bruce hollered as he began tossing piles of clean towels aside only to find nothing there.

"We have to find him!" Diana yelled back.

Alfred's voice suddenly cut through the frantic search of the Manor. "I do believe he's in the kitchen now."

"Grab him, Alfred!" Bruce ordered as he raced towards the kitchen with the new tracer Lucius had created for him firmly in his hand.

"Be careful!" Diana warned as she raced down the stairs. "Don't scare him!"

"If his constant giggling is any indication, I think it's safe to say that he's not scared," Tim said as he made a mad dash for the kitchen as well.

"He's still just a baby even if he does have special gifts," Diana frowned.

"He thinks it's a game," Bruce snapped, swiftly scanning the area as he entered the kitchen only to find Alfred all alone.

"You just missed him," Alfred calmly replied to Bruce's growl of frustration as the butler fought back his amusement with the situation. "Might I suggest bribery, Master Bruce?"

"Here!" Tim suddenly yelled as he took off for the game room.

"No, he's over here!" Diana called. "He's in the study!"

Bruce's hands clenched tightly as he stalked towards the study, cursing every single Greek god that sprang to mind whether they might have had a hand in this or not. Whoever had given him the gift of transporting himself from room to room at lightning speed was going to feel the wrath of Batman rein down on them.

"Come here, Nicholas," Diana sweetly called as she began to crawl across the floor of the study on her hands and knees in her dress. She could hear him giggling and chattering to himself, but couldn't find him anywhere as her frustration swiftly reached new levels. "Nicholas Alfred Wayne! You come here this minute, young man!"

Tim broke out into a fit of laughter as he entered the study to find Diana on all fours and an irritated expression on her face. "Way to go at trying not to scare him, Mom."

Diana glared at the teenager despite her heart melting every time Tim called her mom. She didn't think she could possibly love him more if she'd actually given birth to him herself. She huffed under her breath, trying to blow a stray raven curl out of her line of sight as she stood to her feet.

"Well, we're going to be late for the meeting this afternoon and I'm not about to leave until I find him," she told him as she smoothed out her dress after not finding him under the couch like she'd hoped.

Bruce walked in just then with a cookie in his hand and a devious smirk on his lips. "Nicholas!" he called. "Daddy's got a cookie for you."

All of the sudden, a little boy with black hair and a small stuffed rabbit gripped firmly in his small hand poked his head out from around the corner of his father's desk, a wide toothy grin on his face. "Dada…num…num…" he cried as he quickly crawled towards Bruce.

Bruce immediately reached down for his son, grabbing hold of him with one hand and swinging him up into his arms. He broke off a piece of the large chocolate chip cookie before giving it to his son who greedily began to devour it.

"The leash idea is not sounding so bad anymore is it, Princess?" Bruce smugly told his wife.

Diana looked beyond exasperated, her hands finding her hips as she glared daggers at him. "There has to be a better way of keeping him grounded without tying him up like a dog," she said as she made her way to her husband and son, her fingers stroking Nicholas's short black hair as he nibbled on his cookie.

"I don't know…it might be nice," Tim said, amusement dancing in his eyes. "I've always wanted a dog, but Bruce won't let me have one."

"No pets in the Manor," Bruce scowled as if they'd had this conversation a hundred times before. "There are plenty of bats down in the cave if you are that desperate for an animal to play with."

Tim rolled his eyes with a snort of disagreement. "Heck, I don't need a dog now," he told him. "I've got Nick. I won't have to teach him anything. He already knows how to perform tricks."

"Funny," Bruce glared hotly at him.

"Hurry up and put the tracer on him so we can leave," Diana said as she took Nicholas into her arms, holding him up for Bruce. "We're going to be late for our meeting with Darren."

Bruce's scowl deepened further if that was even possible. "I still don't think you should come with me, Princess," he grumbled as he placed the tiny tracer behind Nicholas's ear just underneath his hairline.

"We've already talked about it, Bruce," Diana replied with obvious frustration. "I'm going along to distract Darren and give you a chance to find out what he's up to. This tracer isn't going to hurt him, is it?"

"No, it's so tiny he won't even know it's there," he informed her. "Its flesh colored so as not to be noticed and completely water proof so it won't get ruined during his bath."

"Cool," Tim smiled, obviously impressed. "You thought of everything, didn't you?"

"Actually, Lucius did," Bruce corrected his son. "I've made it so all of the information from the tracer is delivered to our cell phones so we each won't have to carry a separate device to keep track of him."

"Now you behave yourself and be good for Tim while we're gone, Nicholas," Diana told him as she hugged him. "No more disappearing games, little warrior. You're going to give your mother a heart attack before you're even a year old."

Kissing him on the forehead, she handed him over to Tim. "Call us if you run into any trouble," she instructed him.

"Hey, why are you here?" Bruce asked, suddenly realizing his middle son was home instead of in school where he should be at this hour of the day.

"Parent-teacher conferences," Tim looked at him as if it was obvious.

"Remember…we have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to meet with Tim's teachers?" Diana reminded him.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me now before I meet with your teachers tomorrow?" Bruce asked Tim, his eyebrows narrowing in suspicion.

Fortunately, the young prodigy was unfazed by the Batman's severe looks. He'd seen them all before. Multiple times. "Nope, not at all," Tim replied with an innocent smile. "And whatever they say I did, it's not true."

"Remember, your mother has a magic lasso that forces people to tell the truth," Bruce smirked. "I'm not above using it on you if I have to."

"Bruce, leave the poor boy alone," Diana came to Tim's rescue, flashing him a conspiratorial grin as she grabbed hold of her husband's arm and began to drag him out of the room. "Come on; let's go before we're late."

"You know I'm still not quite sure how you talked your way into coming with me on this tour of Darren's company," Bruce bitterly complained as he followed his wife outside to the limo waiting for them. "I thought I had been abundantly clear that you were to stay out of this."

"And I believe I made it very clear you're not doing this alone," she replied, pausing by the open car door to kiss him. "Whether you like it or not, you need me, Bruce Wayne."

Bruce turned to look at Alfred for some sort of help as Diana climbed inside, but only received a broad smile of agreement with the Amazon Princess from his lifelong friend and surrogate father. "Why is everyone against me in this family? Do I no longer instill fear in anyone anymore?"

"You are still just as terrifying as ever, Sir," Alfred patronizingly replied as Bruce began to climb inside. The billionaire paused to give Alfred a dark bat glare to which the butler only shook his head in amusement. "Shaking in my shoes, Master Bruce."

Settling inside the back of the limo beside his beautiful wife, Bruce quickly captured Diana's hand as Alfred drove away from the Manor. "You know, Princess," he huskily said. "We have yet to properly make up from our spat the other night in the cave. It's never good for a husband and wife to go to bed angry."

"You haven't exactly been around the last couple of days to make up with," Diana reminded him, crossing her long legs and adjusting her short skirt in order to torment him. She could tell by the sudden flare of heated lust in his eyes that it had worked.

Bruce quickly hit the button that closed the private divider between them and Alfred before turning towards his wife. "I guess I had better 'make up' for lost time now while I have you all to myself."

Diana put a firm hand against his muscular chest as he leaned in to kiss her, his hands already going to her waist in order to pull her into his lap. "Who says that I'm even ready to make up?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "Maybe I'm still angry with you."

Bruce took hold of her free hand, bringing it to his lips. "You know it's only because I love you so much that I don't want you involved in this," he told her as he brushed his lips softly against each fingertip before working his way along each knuckle. "Besides, I let you come today, didn't I? Doesn't that count for something?"

Bruce suddenly realized his enormous mistake the instant her cobalt blue eyes shifted from playful mischief to white hot anger. "You 'let me' come with you?" she repeated as she yanked her hand from his grasp.

"That…that came out wrong," he quickly attempted to amend, suddenly somewhat concerned for his well-being. "What I meant was that I'm trying to compromise and allow you…"

"Allow me?" Diana hissed, her tone rising as she sat up a little straighter.

"Wait…that's not the right word I wanted," Bruce huffed with growing frustration as Diana shifted further away from him, her arms crossed and her eyes practically daring him to try and touch her again.

"Care to try again?" she ground out, her dark glower somehow only serving to heighten his desire.

She was just so damn passionate and fiery, her blue eyes flashing with such intensity. It was one of the things that he loved about her, one of the things that always managed to turn him on. Momentarily closing his eyes, he paused to draw a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before speaking again; silently praying he'd still be able to walk under his own power when they finally arrived at their destination.

Bruce tentatively placed a hand on her bare knee, his thumb gently caressing her skin. "You are the most important person in my life, Princess," he told her, speaking from the heart. "You and our family mean everything to me. The thought of anything ever happening to you terrifies me to the core. I'd never be able to forgive myself if I ever lost you."

Diana sighed, unfolding her arms with his words and physically opening herself up to him. "Bruce…"

"Diana, you're the most beautiful, most powerful woman I have ever met," he continued, his hand moving to cup her cheek. "You are amazing in every single way and I have no doubt that you can handle yourself against any foe.

"It's the evil in this world that I don't trust, the unknown factors that lie hidden in the shadows or around every corner ready and waiting to steal what I love most. That's what haunts my sleep, and rattles my soul. It's what makes me want to keep you safe from everything."

"Bruce, it's alright. I probably overreacted a little," Diana sighed, her eyes softening with the love she felt for him. She found that she treasured these moments the most with him when he showed her his heart, bared his soul to her and allowed her to see him so vulnerable. "I love you and I just want us to be partners in every way, in everything."

Bruce leaned in to kiss her, pausing just before his lips met hers. "Diana, as much as you want us to be equals, I'm afraid it's impossible," he said with a soft smile. "You're so far above us all, shining that blinding brilliant light of yours that no one could ever reach you…especially not me."

His lips met hers with such a slow sweet passion that she could barely breathe let alone form a coherent thought. Her fingers instinctively slid up into his black hair, drawing him closer as she parted her lips for him. He happily complied, his desire matching hers as he pressed himself into her, his hand finding her backside and gripping it firmly as he pulled her hips into him.

Diana released a throaty moan as he broke away to kiss and nip along her throat, grinding his hips into hers as he held her firmly against him. She tilted her head, offering every part of herself to him and silently pleading for more.

She suddenly shifted her position, pushing him back into the seat as she straddled him, her hands holding his face. Her long curly locks fell like an ebony curtain around their faces, shielding them from the outside world.

She gasped as his hands snaked up her thighs, pushing her short skirt up to grip her backside again, slowly kneading her flesh. Their mouths devoured one another as tongues tangled and warred for dominance, neither about to back down as he began to unbutton her shirt.

Releasing her hold on him, Diana began tugging on his shirt, desperate to get at him, to feel him filling and stretching her so completely. A strangled growl rose up in his throat as she deftly unhooked his belt buckle and began to unbutton his dress pants.

"Princess…" he panted as he broke the kiss. "I…I think we're going…to have to wait until after our meeting…"

Before he could finish, her lips were on his again and driving him to the point of not even caring where they were or who could hear them as her fingers began to dance just beneath the waist band of his boxers, teasing him with what they both so desperately wanted.

He tilted his head back against the headrest, knowing he needed to stop this now, but every fiber of his being protested against such a foolish idea. He had a very hot, very insatiable Amazon Princess on his lap. Why would he want to stop this?

Alfred's voice suddenly came over the intercom system in the limo. "Master Bruce, we will be arriving in approximately ten minutes."

It was Alfred's polite way of saying wrap it up quick because the party was almost over. "Sorry, Princess," Bruce frowned with mutual disappointment as he extracted her hand from his pants. "We will definitely be picking this up where we left off when we're done with this tour."

"I'm holding you to it," she seductively purred against his ear, raking her teeth over the lobe before shifting off of him.

Bruce closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to rein in his arousal before putting himself back together again. He didn't know how he was going to be able to make it through this meeting without imploding or pulling Diana into the nearest closet.

Thoughts of cancelling and rescheduling drifted through his mind, but he quickly banished them. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, hoping to uncover something that would help him discover what Darren Strong was up to and get him out of his city.

Collecting himself, Bruce leaned over and refastened the buttons on Diana's shirt while his insides were screaming at him to tear it off of her. It also wasn't helping that she was staring at him with pure hunger still lingering in her eyes.

Diana leaned over and began kissing along his jaw as he finished putting her back together; the light rake of her teeth and seductive suck of her lips was pure torture of the best kind. "Princess," he breathlessly chided her as he roughly gripped her upper arms before kissing her hard. "You're making it difficult to stop."

"That's the point, Detective," she playfully grinned.

"I think we need to discuss our game plan before we go in," he told her as he put a little distance between them.

"Well, I'll just distract him while you pretend to get lost," she suggested.

"Diana, you won't have to work very hard at distracting anyone with that skirt you're wearing," he frowned. "You're already distracting me."

"Keep your focus off of my legs and on the mission, Dark Knight," she warned him.

Bruce grinned in response. "That's easier said than done. It's going to be harder to keep from hitting Darren especially when he sees you in that skirt. Couldn't you have worn something a little less sexy?"

"I can't distract him if I've covered from head to toe," she reminded him.

"Princess, you could be wearing a burlap sack and you'd still make it look gorgeous," he informed her. "Just be careful and keep your eyes and ears open. I have no idea what we're getting ourselves into."

The limo pulled to a stop before a large building that appeared to be made of black glass. It shined brightly in the afternoon sun like an onyx jewel, the construction of it appearing absolutely seamless. Darren had obviously spent a great deal of money having it built to impress the citizens of Gotham.

Alfred opened the car door, allowing Bruce to exit first who turned to extend a hand to his wife. Making their way towards the front entrance, the doors suddenly opened and Darren Strong himself exited. He was dressed casually in khakis and a navy blue button down shirt, a huge smile plastered on his face. His gaze was fixed solely on Diana as he approached which immediately set Bruce off.

"Bruce…Diana," he greeted them, making a beeline for the Amazon Princess. "I'm so glad that you could come today."

"Darren," Bruce tightly returned the greeting.

He came to a stop before the Amazon, his eyes never leaving her face as he took her hands in his, bowing slightly to kiss them. "Diana, you look incredible. I'm so pleased that you were able to find time in your busy schedule to join us today for the tour."

Bruce gritted his teeth as Darren kissed Diana's hand, doing his best to tamp down on his jealous anger. He needed answers and this was going to be his best chance at that. And as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Diana's presence was going to prove very useless especially with her enhanced sight and hearing. She would be able to pick up on things that he might not even with his own highly skilled abilities.

"Please, come with me," Darren said, guiding Diana's hand to his elbow as he escorted them inside.

Bruce followed close behind them, fighting to keep his eyes off of his wife's long legs. His groin twitched with just the thought of them, loving the feel of them wrapped so firmly around his waist, holding him to her when they made love.

Although highly effective, Diana's short skirt had not only attracted Darren's attention, but the attention of every red-blooded male in the entire building. Every single person they walked by, male or female, stopped whatever it was they were doing to gawk at the leggy Amazon.

Dressed in a white dress shirt and short navy blue skirt and high heels, her legs appeared to go on for miles. Her curly hair was an ebony waterfall down her back, bouncing slightly with every step she took. She was the epitome of sexy in every single way imaginable.

Getting into an elevator, Bruce immediately snatched up Diana's other hand, keeping a protective hold on it. She cast a sidelong glance at him as she laced her fingers with his, barely able to keep her smirk at bay. He was just so sexy when he was jealous.

She squeezed his hand in silent reassurance as she turned her attention towards their host. "This place is incredible, Darren. You seemed to have put a lot of thought and detail into this."

"Thank you," he beamed proudly. "It's not as big as I had hoped, but it'll do for now. Bruce tells me that you're feeling better. I was glad to hear that. A baby is a very blessed event without having to suffer with morning sickness."

"Yes, I'm glad as well."

"I was stunned to find out that you are susceptible to the same maladies that affect normal humans," he continued as the elevator came to a stop. He held the elevator door open for her, allowing her to exit first. "I was under the impression that Meta's were immune to illnesses."

"We normally are, but unfortunately, Amazons are just as susceptible to everything that comes along with pregnancies just like any other woman," she replied.

Diana could practically feel Bruce's eyes burning through her as she walked with Darren, her husband following behind. She could feel his eyes on her ass as well. It caused her to flush inside with renewed desire for her husband.

Besides morning sickness, pregnancy did have some great perks. She couldn't seem to get enough of her sexy husband. Of course, she was always like that, but it was definitely enhanced with carrying their child.

Deciding to torment him a little and to get a little revenge for giving her the cold shoulder for a whole week, Diana swayed her hips a little more, wiggling her backside of him. She smiled to herself as she heard him stutter in his step, a low moan morphing into a throat clearing cough to cover his reaction.

"So, how soon will you begin with your research?" Bruce asked, his voice huskier than before.

"Research has been going on already, but I'm most anxious to expand and develop it with our partnership, bringing it to a whole other level," Darren replied, glancing back over his shoulder at the billionaire.

"What kind of research have you begun?" Diana asked with great curiosity as she began to make her way towards a couple of women in crisp white lab coats bent over microscopes.

"Cellular research," Darren informed her as he followed her.

"What kind of cellular research?" Bruce pressed as he stopped by a man working on a computer.

Darren looked over to where the Prince of Gotham was standing looking over the shoulder of a man inputting data into the computer. He quickly walked over to Bruce, his gaze narrowing as he tried to pull his guest away from the researchers.

"It's quite delicate work requiring great attention to detail," Darren said as he gently tugged on Bruce's elbow to draw his attention away. "It involves genetic coding, what makes each of us different…what causes one person to be completely healthy and someone else to be bedridden with a debilitating disease."

"Sounds fascinating," Diana said as she continued to wander on ahead of them in an attempt to lure Darren away from Bruce so her husband could gather information. "And what is this?"

Darren swiftly moved to follow the curious Amazon, momentarily forgetting all about the billionaire. "These researchers are working on developing ways to cure various diseases and cancers."

"What kind of diseases?" Diana asked as she turned her attention to him, her blue eyes drawing him in.

"Many kinds," he softly said, mesmerized by her. "Would like to see some more?"

"I'd love to," she sweetly replied, lacing her arm through his and leading him deeper into the enormous research lab that he'd set up. "Tell me more about these ideas of yours."

As Darren began to talk, Diana cast a glance back over her shoulder at her husband who was already beginning to blend himself into the shadows.


End file.
